October 30, 2015
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Voluntary Contribution PROGR A M
VO LUM E 1 3 | IS S U E 52 | FREE
Look for the special insert inside this week’s paper ParkerChronicle.net D O U G L A S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
ACLU lauds police rollout of body cams Parker PD works with ACLU, DA’s office on policy
By Chris Michlewicz cmichlewicz@colorado communitymedia.com The Parker Police’s introduction of body-worn cameras and policies guiding their use has earned the department praise from an unlikely source. Parker Police sought advice on the departmentwide implementation of body cams from the American Civil Liberties Union, which later issued an article that calls the policy one of the best in the nation. It was in 2013, well before the officer-involved shooting of Michael Brown and other incidents that have made national headlines, that Parker Police Chief David King began contemplating
body-worn cameras for the 67 commissioned officers under his watch. Lt. Chris Peters, who was charged with creating the bodycam policy, said the consideration of constitutional rights and privacy was an element that was missing from other agencies’ guiding documents. The idea of reaching out to the ACLU, which occasionally calls out law enforcement agencies for perceived heavy-handed tactics, “raises some eyebrows,” Peters said, but it was viewed as a necessary proactive step. “They’re just trying to make sure that the constitutional rights are upheld, and that’s all we want to do as well,” Peters said. “The whole purpose of a police department is to uphold the Constitution and the laws, so it just makes sense that we get a ACLU continues on Page 9
PARKER PD BODY CAMS BY THE NUMBERS 67 Cameras purchased $399 Cost per unit $66,000 Annual costs after first two years
130 degrees Camera lens field of view
The entire Parker Police Department began using body cameras last month. From right, officer Salvador Blea, Sgt. Michael Buoniconti, Sgt. Steve Tarr, Chief David King and Lt. Chris Peters. Photo by Chris Michlewicz
30 Frames per second $152,000
Storage, service agreement, docking stations for first two years
Team prepares to save lives High voter SCHOOL BOARD RACE
All-volunteer squad trains twice a month
turnout expected
By Shanna Fortier sfortier@coloradocommunitymedia.com When members of the Douglas County Search and Rescue team recently deployed to Castlewood Canyon State Park one morning, they found people who looked as if they’d been struck by lightning while hiking. But the scenario wasn’t real. Instead, it was a true-to-life depiction — theatrical makeup created realistic-looking injuries and victims acted out their injuries to add to the realism of the mass casualty incident training. The all-volunteer rescue team responded, assessed the situation, treated the wounded and organized relief efforts, prioritizing and managing the crisis amid the chaos. “The whole intent of this is to overwhelm the team,” said Travis Baker, a field team member who organized the training. “Usually, like last night, we have one subject and we had 10 to 12 rescuers that go out. But when there are situations like this scenario, with 18 subjects, the resources become very strained and we can’t operate in a mode that we’re used to operating in. It’s important for us to train in that mode once in a while because stuff like this does happen.” The simulation closely reflected the lightning strike that injured 16 people this summer at Mount Bierstadt. From 2005 to 2014, Colorado was the third highest in the nation for lightningcaused fatalities, with 17 people killed by lightning. “It’s not that we’re training for a lightning strike,” Baker said, “it’s that we’re training for any scenario that involves enough victims to cause us to be overwhelmed.” Douglas County Search and Rescue is a nonprofit, all-volunteer team dedicated to providing search, rescue and emergency response to the Douglas County citizens. It was formed in September 1998 and deployed on its first mission Feb. 10, 1999, when two dirt bike riders went missing in Rampart Range. Rescue continues on Page 9
Election officials project at least 100,000 will cast ballots By Mike DiFerdinando mdiferdinando@coloradocommunitymedia.com With three seats open on the Douglas County Board of Education, county officials are expecting the trend of high voter turnout for school district races to continue Nov. 3. There are 224,956 registered voters in Douglas County, and officials estimate more than 50 percent of voters will cast ballots. In District A, incumbent Craig Richardson will take on Wendy Vogel. Board President Kevin Larsen will face off with Anne-Marie Lemieux in District C. Incumbent Richard Robbins and David Ray will vie for the District F seat. The county has already received more than 20,000 mail-in ballots, according to Douglas County Clerk and Recorder Merlin Klotz. According to Klotz, the county had received 29,000 ballots at the same point prior to the 2013 election. But there are several factors that could have accounted for the difference, Klotz said. “If you look at the sample ballot for 2013 vs. the sample ballot for 2015 you will note that Amendment 66 (taxes) and Proposition AA were on the 2013 ballot and drew a lot more interest than the current statewide DCSD continues on Page 8
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The training, which took place at Castlewood Canyon State Park, included a rock-climbing rescue. Photo by Shanna Fortier
Want updates? Go to the Chronicle’s website at ParkerChronicle.net for election results the night of Nov. 3.