On 7/31/19, Nederland Police responded to a walk-in report of a party being assaulted outside of a local establishment. The reporting party stated he had been with a group of friends who were discussing confronting a woman panhandling for several days at a local gas station who they claimed got picked up by a fancy sports car at the end of every day. The reporting party stated that he was not part of the confrontation but was later eating lunch at a local establishment on First Street when he was approached by an aggressive male party who claimed to be the partner of the woman panhandling.

The aggressive male party started yelling at the reporting party, and he felt he was about to be assaulted. The suspect kicked and tripped the male party as he was trying to leave the establishment, yelling at him about harassing his wife who begs for money for gas. The suspect followed the male party out of the establishment, prompting him to run for his vehicle. At this point, construction workers working on First Street came out and took video footage of the interaction, which caused the suspect to abandon his assault and flee to his own vehicle. 

The officer taking the statement took pictures of the reporting party’s injuries. Follow up investigations were done with Calvary Chapel and the construction workers, which resulted in the discovery that the transient couple in question had left town. 

On 8/1/19, Nederland Police were dispatched to a criminal mischief complaint on First Street. The reporting party met the officer on site and reported that he had observed a male and female using chalk to draw on a utility housing. The reporting party had taken pictures of them in action, but he only caught them from behind. He stated he watched them leave the area heading eastbound. The suspects had written the words “you can’t see what you haven’t been shown” on the utility box. The investigating officer was unable to locate the suspects in the general vicinity. The next day, the officer made contact with an employee of the establishment and pointed out the defamation, asking if he was aware of it and did he want to press charges if the suspects were found, he declined. 

On 8/5/19, Nederland Police responded to a local residence on a report of suicide by hanging. Upon arrival to the residence, the officer was met by a female resident and her son standing outside waving him down. The female resident reported returning home from being gone over the weekend and upon entering her home she discovered her male roommate hanging by a rope in the stairwell. The officer quickly investigated the scene and confirmed his condition, calling for Advocates from BCSO as well as a Coroner. The officer then proceeded to speak with the female roommate as well as a neighbor familiar with the male victim as well as gathering information on scene in the form of notes, medications, and photos of the scene in question to verify self-infliction. The victim was known to not abuse alcohol or drugs and was seeking treatment for depression. 

On 8/7/19, Nederland Police responded to a report of a hit and run to a motorcycle parked on 2nd Street. The witness reported seeing the vehicle back up into the motorcycle, knocking it to the ground before performing a U-turn and driving the wrong way up 2nd street to make their get-away. The officer contacted the owner of the motorcycle after verifying damage was minimal to the machine, to which the owner decided to not pursue charges. Charges will be pursued for the one-way violation should the suspect be located. 

On 8/8/19, Nederland police responded to a call for assistance from Gilpin County Sheriff’s office regarding locating and holding two suspects wanted for involvement in a robbery. Having provided an associated suspect vehicle description, Nederland officers were able to locate the suspects, make contact and hold without incident until Gilpin County Sheriffs arrived to apprehend the suspects, with Nederland officers assisting in transporting to the Gilpin County Jail. 

On 8/8/19, The Colorado Department of Human Services contacted the Nederland Police Department to request a follow-up regarding a complaint stating that a concerned citizen had noticed a man traveling with several children in a vehicle who were not properly restrained. In addition to these concerns, the reporting party had noticed that not all of these children were his. After the children’s parents were identified, it was noted that the man has been previously investigated for neglect and inappropriate behavior, which raised concerns for the wellbeing of the children who spend a lot of time at the man’s residence. The case is being actively reviewed. 

On 8/9/19, Nederland Police were dispatched to assist the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office to Gordon Gulch, Forest Road 226, campsite 13 for a 911 hang-up. Upon arrival. Officers made contact with a male and female party who gave names but no identification. The female party reported accidentally calling 911 while pushing buttons during her attempt to get her phone to work. An officer ran her name and DOB through Boulder County Dispatch and was told there is an outstanding warrant for Failure to Appear out of the City of Longmont. The female was placed into custody and transported to Boulder County Jail. 

On 8/10/19, Nederland Police were advised to contact a female regarding an incident that had occurred earlier in the day. The reporting female stated that she had been walking westbound on First Street when a vehicle approached her from the eastbound direction, making a sudden stop that the reporting female called an aggressive U-turn dangerously close to her carrying her one-and-a-half-year-old. The female in the vehicle then spoke something to her that she could not hear before attempting to back into her driveway. The reporting party stated that the vehicle suddenly started accelerating toward her and screeched to a stop about a foot away from her, scaring her considerably. Two neighbors came out to the road and yelled at her to move around and away from the rear of the vehicle, and as she proceeded toward them she alleges the female in the vehicle yelled “Get the F*&% out of my town, you f*&%ing tourist!” to which she admits responding by giving her the middle finger. The reporting female states that the neighbors invited her and her son into their home where she wrote out a statement of the incident to be reported to the police. She told police that she did not want to press charges but would like someone to go talk to her. 

Upon arrival at the residence of the female vehicle occupant, the officer asked her side of the story, at which point she curtly admitted to using profanity against the other woman but denied having driven toward her. She stated that she was simply parking her vehicle as she usually does.

On 8/23/19, Nederland Police were dispatched to contact a driver who had almost caused a head-on collision by passing recklessly on Highway 119. When contact was established, the officers noticed a strong smell of alcohol. The passenger was interviewed and released. The driver was asked to produce his license, registration and insurance documentation, but instead provided only the vehicle’s title. It was discovered that his license was under restraint and he had a previous outstanding warrant.  After medical clearance, the driver was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, driving under restraint, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, violation of registration, failure to appear and failure to use turn signal.

On 8/25/19, at approximately 5 p.m., Nederland Police took a report from a female tenant regarding a dispute involving her landlord during which the landlord had reportedly locked the tenant inside her home with a padlock installed on the outside of the door. The tenant had called 911 during the incident, and upon Boulder Sheriffs’ arrival, the landlord was on the roof of the dwelling. The tenant reported feeling threatened by the things the landlord was saying to her through the wall, such as, “Get out! Get out while it’s still safe for you!” The tenant became concerned for her safety due to the escalation and apparent instability of comments from the landlord. Allegedly, this continued for approximately two hours. The landlord told police that he frequently speaks out loud to God and the tenant had only heard him doing this. The tenant had several recordings of the incidents.

The reporting party stated that earlier that day, the landlord had disconnected her power and Wi-Fi and she had been forced to use candlelight to light her home. The landlord stated that he suffered from PTSD and dementia, although the officers noted his ability to recall details throughout their interaction. 

Based on his admittance of having locked the tenant’s door, he was charged with false imprisonment. During his ride with the officer, the accused stated that he was empowered by God and could have easily broken his handcuffs but had decided not to as a courtesy. 

On 8/28/28/19, a woman reported a case of criminal mischief at her home during which a sliding glass door had been forced open, causing it to bend enough that it would no longer latch. Nothing was reported missing and the case is under investigation. 

On 8/28/19, a stolen vehicle was located on Gilpin Road, with the keys in it, and was returned to its owner. The officers were able to lift a fingerprint and a potential DNA sample from the scene. 

On 8/29/19, a man came to the Nederland Police Station to report an issue he had with a previous roommate. The reporting party stated that he believed his former housemate had intentionally “charged” at him with his vehicle as he was walking on a sidewalk through town. The reporting party believed that the former roommate was angry at him and was “escalating.” The reporting party stated that he had tried to discuss the matter with the previous roommate, but his number had been blocked. The officer advised the reporting party to discontinue contact with the previous roommate and made a report. 

(Originally published in the October 31, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)