On 6/5/19, Nederland Police were dispatched by the Town Administrator in response to an email sent to her regarding an ongoing issue between neighbors that has been well documented in several previous reports. The female reporting party shares a driveway with the male party, her neighbor and reported by email that due to the ongoing issues had decided to sell her home and move. She was assigned a local realtor, who contacted Ned PD and affirmed that the reporting party had put her home on the market through him on 5/30/19, but 5 days later he advised her to remove it due to the sudden appearance of trash and junk along the property line and shared driveway area.

The following day, a Nederland officer responded to the female reporting party regarding her latest report, visiting the property and area that he had visited several times in the past. On this particular occasion, the officer observed several “Keep Out” and “No Entry” signs on the shared driveway that had not been observed previously. Also observed were a doll mounted on the fence and skulls mounted on the trees along the driveway, as well as piles of junk including a tire, a pile of boards, and some chimney pieces, broken pots and car parts sitting in a heap near the northwest corner of the property line, and a go kart on a trailer. 

The reporting party provided the officer with 4 videos included in the report, reporting a timeline of the conditions of the property before and after the junk appeared with an identifiable male party placing the junk in the various locations. He is later seen riding a bicycle down to the edge of the driveway where a tent is set up with several drinking cans strewn about the opening, which did not appear to be used or occupied otherwise. 

That same day, the officer contacted the male party at his front door and gave him a copy of the town statute to accompany an issued summons, taking the time to walk with him to identify the problem areas. Both parties had their phones out filming the officer the entire time, and the male party told the officer he would not sign the summons he was issuing him and refused to answer any questions he was asked regarding the incident. 

On 6/7/19, Nederland Police were contacted by Boulder County Dispatch to respond to a Domestic Violence in progress at a residence in Nederland. Based on the descriptions provided by dispatch, the officer was able to easily identify the male party and the female party at an intersection in town where he ran both identities through dispatch and discovered one party had an outstanding warrant for Failure to Appear issued from Denver Sheriff’s Office. The warrant was confirmed as a nationwide extradition with 2,000 dollar bond. The party was immediately taken into custody and transferred to the Boulder County Jail. 

On 6/13/19, Nederland Police were dispatched on a 911 call to N. Jefferson St. in Nederland. Upon arrival, the officer saw an older female and made contact with her. He was informed that there was someone wrapped in a blanket by the Presbyterian Church. He drove over to the location and recognized her from speaking to her over an incident that had occurred in the Town of Ward approximately two hours ago where he advised her to call Boulder County Sheriff’s Office to speak to a Deputy. Upon approaching her, the female party dropped the blanket she was covered with and he was able to see fresh scrapes on her legs and mud on her face. Due to the cool weather and her dropping her covering, he offered her shelter in the back of the squad car, explaining that she was not under arrest but that he trying to help due to concern over her asking the older woman to call 911. The female party appeared to be impaired compared to her state 2 hours ago, and though she and the officer are familiar enough with each other to be on a first name basis the female party did not seem to recognize the officer. The officer called for medical assistance because she said something about having been strangled. He then asked her if she knew who had strangled her but she would not answer, commenting only that she had been in the church to pray as she began to walk off. The officer stated he did not believe she was in a safe state to leave, therefore he attempted to subdue her until Nederland Ambulance staff arrived, approximately 6 minutes after making contact. 

Once the ambulance staff arrived, the officer convinced the female party to let them examine her, however once they began examining her she resisted. Knowing she did not want him there, the officer let the ambulance staff work with the female party, who tried to leave and thrashed and fought so badly during transport that the ambulance had to pull over twice to attempt to subdue her, with staff being bitten more than once by the female party. Upon arrival to Boulder Community Hospital, the female party was also combative with hospital staff. The officer completed paperwork for a mental health hold. 

The next day, the female party had been released from BCH and came to the police department asking about her wallet, to which she was told to return when the officer involved with her case had returned. Later that day, the officer in question observed the same female party standing outside of Calvary Chapel, so he turned into the parking lot so the female party could approach him. He asked her if she remembered the incident from the previous day and having bitten a medical staff member, to which she denied all knowledge. She stated that when she awoke in the hospital, staff asked her if she had been on LSD, to which she also denied, stating they had only found alcohol and THC in her blood. The officer arrested her for second degree assault on a medical service provider engaged in the performance of his or her duties. 

Once the female party was in custody, she claimed to have been assaulted prior to the incident occurring. With Chief Johns present, the officer Mirandized the female party and then asked her if she wanted to continue talking to him about the incident, and she said no. He then asked her if she wanted to discuss the alleged assault, to which she replied by telling him she had been in the church praying when she was hit in the back of the head and then choked out by a white male in a white, wide, flat brimmed hat. She described how the man had used both his knee and his hands to choke her until she lost consciousness, stating she did not know who he was. The female party’s backpack was put into Property due to the Boulder County Jail not accepting backpacks. On the way to Boulder County Jail, the female party reporting having lost her wallet that contained her temporary CO ID as well as her food stamp card and twelve dollars. 

The next day, the same officer went to the Presbyterian Church in search of the wallet as well as to investigate the reported assault, and found no signs of any struggle or assault, nor the missing wallet. 

The officer also made contact with a known male acquaintance to the female party, who reported that the female party had been at his home previous to the incident two days ago and had been hysterical to the point of him kicking the woman out of his home. She took off on a bicycle that she wrecked before leaving the driveway, and lost her wallet at that time. He placed it on the hood of a van in his driveway, leaving it there for her to find, so he turned it in to the officer who placed it in property with her backpack, knife and blanket. The officer also spoke with a member of staff at the Presbyterian Church who reported not knowing anyone of matching description to the alleged perpetrator of the assault on the reporting female. 

As of June 20, the female party has still not gone to the Nederland Police Department to retrieve her belongings despite being released from jail three days prior and since she had reported to the officer that her phone had been rendered inoperable there is no way to contact her.

On 6/19/19, Nederland Police investigated a complaint from a local tenant who reported his belongings had been removed from his residence, a rental in Nederland, as well as the locks having been changed. The officer contacted a previous Detective who had investigated a previous complaint of a conflict between the reporting party, a tenant and his landlord, for history of the situation. The tenant currently reported with proof of documentation that the rental lease agreement shows him being a legal resident of the space until April 2020. He had previously spoken with a Boulder County Sheriff who recommended he contact a lawyer about his belongings having been removed without notice from the residence. When the current officer made contact with the reporting party, he was shown texts between him and his landlord that were demand for a deposit that was not included in the signed written lease agreement as well as a promise to put off a remodel due to his occupation of the space. The reporting party stated he did not want his landlord arrested or to get in trouble, just that he be held accountable. 

The officer made multiple attempts to contact the landlord through phone messages and visits to the property but no one was ever there nor did he get a return phone call. On June 26, the officer in accompaniment of a Boulder County Sheriff Deputy made contact with the landlord who claimed the tenant had run off the other roommates in the residence with loud music and untidiness. He claimed there was a verbal agreement made with the tenant and himself stating he would move out by June 15 because he had decided to sell the property, which is the reason he had moved all the tenant’s belongings out of the house. He showed the officers texts, a check and a document proving the situation was resolved between them. 

On 6/23/19, Nederland Police were dispatched to a local residence on report of a Burglary. The reporting party called to explain that three weeks ago, someone entered their home through a broken back door and stole a change jar. She believes they entered the home on June 7 between the hours of 1300 and 1600, as that is when she leaves the home in the day and her husband comes home at 1600. She stated that at the time her husband had found the back door ajar but believed their small children had done it and never noticed the change jar missing. The reporting party stated nothing else was taken from the home and believes the thief(s) may have been scared away. The jar in question had contained approximately 20-30 1964 Kennedy ½ dollars that had been given to her by her grandfather. In addition, the jar contained approximately $30 worth of colored dollar coins and some other miscellaneous cash valued at $30. The case continues to be under investigation.

On 6/24/19, Nederland Police were contacted by phone regarding a report of a stolen license plate. The female party was calling on behalf of her husband who had been in the area with friends on 6/22/19 for a fishing and camping trip. The party had fished on the NW shore of Barker Reservoir and spent the night at a camp located on West Magnolia. The following morning, they had discovered that all their front license plates had been stolen. The other members of the party will be calling to make their own reports of the theft. The officer will be completing a stolen license plate request with BCSO.

On 6/25/19, Nederland Police was dispatched to a local residence on a report of a broken window. The officer met with the reporting party and home owner who told her that she had discovered a window on the east rear side of the residence. She reported she had last seen the window intact approximately two weeks ago, and she did not know of any suspects. The officer noted that she believed the window to have been broken with several small rocks that were still resting on the inner window sill. There was no evidence of attempted entry of the residence. No photos were taken of the damage, which is estimated to be valued at approximately $50. The officer checked the remainder of the residence for any evidence of damage or entry, with none being found. With no leads for the criminal mischief, the case is rendered inactive. 

On 6/25/29, Nederland Police received a call reporting a male and female fighting with the female yelling “let me go”. The officer drove to the area of the reported fight and discovered a couple to which he has been called on at least 2 prior occasions for domestic violence. The officer assessed the scene and due to identifying marks of violence on the female as well as the suspicious behavior and conflicting stories of the violent interaction from both parties that medical assistance should be called in. The case is ongoing while the officer attempts to contact the original reporting party for a statement of events. 

On 6/29/19, Nederland Police were dispatched to a call regarding a stolen picnic table from a lot on East First Street. The reporting party estimated the stolen table to be brand new, freshly stained and of more sturdy than average construction due to bolts used for its construction rather than screws. The reporting party has no suspects, nor any cameras; therefore the case has been deemed inactivated. 

On 6/30/19, Nederland Police took a report from a male party who came in to the PD to report door damage to his car sustained while parked in the back lot of his work. He was sitting in his car on a smoking break when a party in the car parked next to him opened his car door into the rear passenger door of the reporting party’s car, reportedly hard enough to jar the entire car and leave significant damage to the door handle. The officer went to try and identify the reported perpetrator to no avail. He returned to the PD to complete the report where he was given a Colorado ID card instead of a valid driver’s license from the reporting party. The officer cleared that the reporting party had a suspended license and $300 warrant from Boulder County as well as a warrant out from New Jersey for Larceny, with the case deemed unfounded due to lack of damage to the reporting party’s car. 

Nederland Police Department reports to have the following items turned in as lost and found:  keys found by the bridge near the skate park (turned in on 6/14); an out of state Driver’s license; a wallet and 3 cell phones (one was turned in on 6/30).

(Originally published in the August 1, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)