Westminster 9-5-2013
September 5, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourwestminsternews.com
Adams County and Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 68, Issue 46
Venue still undecided Judge may move trial out of Jeffco By Ashley Reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews.com
The speed and agility of a K9 was demonstrated during the dedication ceremony of the Flatrock Regional Training Center on Aug. 23 in Commerce City. Photos by Ashley Reimers
County opens law enforcement training center Flatrock offers firearms, driving, defensive tactics training By Tammy Kranz
tkranz@ourcoloradonews. com When Adams County sheriff deputies needed to refresh their driving skills they had to go to two locations — an abandoned subdivision in Castle Rock and to Georgetown Lake during the winter for ice driving practice. Firearm training was done off Riverdale Road and defensive tactics training was performed wherever there was an empty room. Now deputies, and other law enforcement agencies in the area, can use the new Adams County Flatrock Regional Training Center that opened Aug. 24 at 23600 E. 128th Ave. in Com-
Officials held a dedication ceremony Aug. 23 for Flatrock Regional Training Center, a new $10.5 million training facility in Commerce City that offers firearms, driving and defensive tactics training in one centralized location. merce City. The $10.5 million facility offers firearms, driving and defensive tactics training at one centralized location. “(Flatrock) really cuts down on travel time and allows us to work on a lot of different skills,” said Adams County Sheriff’s Office Division Chief Mike Mc-
Intosh. “Taking all our vehicles that deputies use down to Castle Rock to do driver training was not very effective.” Flatrock features an Emergency Vehicle Operation Complex (EVOC), which includes a 6-acre asphalt skills pad for lower-speed maneuvers as well
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as a 1.3-mile highway course designed to test high-speed emergency maneuvers. This is much more convenient than waiting at a particular time in the winter to drive to Georgetown for certain types of training, McIntosh said. “No we can put that car on a skid just like it was on ice,” he said. “We can do that in August or in January.” He said a 10-hour training day used to include a lot of time spent traveling to a place for the training; now an officer can take those 10 hours and be trained in all three disciplines. Flatrock continues on Page 16
The Austin Sigg trial may or may not end up in Jefferson County. During the Aug. 29 motions hearing, Judge Stephen Munsinger ruled that he will make his decision whether or not to grant a change of venue to the defense during the jury selection process, which begins on Sept. 20. “I don’t know if we can seat a fair and impartial jury. I won’t know that until the jurors get here,” Munsinger said. “I want to acknowledge the defense for their efforts in keeping information out of the public domain.” Munsinger’s decision came after a long testimony from Paul Talmey with TalmeyDrake Research and Strategy Inc. who conducted a survey of potential jurors. Talmey and a team of trained interviewers conducted 707 phone interviews throughout Colorado, with 303 of them done in Jefferson County, 203 of them done in the metro area and 201 of them done Sigg outside of the metro area. Those surveyed were asked over 20 questions, beginning with screener questions followed by questions regarding the abduction and murder of Jessica Ridgeway and the Sigg case. Talmey testified that his findings from the survey showed a high use of social media, like Facebook and Twitter, as a means of information gained on the case by those interviewed. “There’s a difference between getting information through a passive form and an active form and in terms of this case people are activity involved with the case,” Talmey said. “Whether it’s through email or making comments on Facebook or Twitter, people aren’t just acknowledging the case, they are involved.” Talmey said according to his findings, those interviewed in Jefferson County had a “very high awareness of the crime” and that the crime “rang a bell with people.” He said the recognition of the crime from people surveyed was much higher in Jefferson County than it was outside the county. He suggested to the judge to change the venue of the trial. “I’d say it will be hard to seat an impartial and fair jury in Jefferson County and the metro area,” Talmey said. “There are too many people with too much information.” Also during the hearing, Munsinger accepted University of Colorado at Boulder Psychologist Dr. Marie Banich as an expert witness for the defense for the upcoming trial. She took the stand during the hearing and discussed her lengthy background and experience in child and adolescent brain development. During the trial she will not be discussing Sigg’s personal brain development nor will she review any reports on Sigg. She will only testify as an expert teaching witness to educate the jury on child and adolescent brain development. Sigg’s trial is set to begin on Oct. 3 with opening arguments. If convicted, he faces life in prison with a possibility of parole after 40 years. He faces 17 charges, including murder and sexual assault. He is charged with abducting and murdering 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway last October.