Crime & Safety
Boulder Stay-At-Home Order: Police Hope Education Will Suffice
"The hope is that criminal enforcement of the public health order will not become necessary," City of Boulder officials said.
BOULDER, CO — During his announcement of the stay-at-home order in Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis made it clear that the order is a law, which means that local law enforcement agencies have the authority to charge people with misdemeanors if they disregard the order. The Boulder Police Department, however, said it's hoping that "criminal enforcement of the public health order will not become necessary."
Officers are not conducting traffic stops "solely to ascertain why people are traveling," city officials said.
"Officers are operating under the assumption that most violations will be unintentional," and will seek to provide "education rather than enforcement," the city said.
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“As we navigate through unprecedented times, we are aware that our actions have a direct positive or negative impact on the members of our community," Interim Boulder Police Chief Carey Weinheimer said in a statement.
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"We believe that as a community we are all in this together and heed the guidance of local, state, and national public health experts to keep our family, friends, neighbors, first responders, healthcare workers, and public-facing workers safe and healthy. We pledge to do our part by informing, educating, and enforcing (only as a last resort) the directives laid out in the public health orders."
Under state law, however, local law enforcement agencies have the authority to impose class 1 misdemeanors, punishable by a fine up to $5,000, 18 months in jail, or both.
Data shows that if people don't follow social distancing rules, up to 33,200 people could be dead by June 1, Polis said in a news conference Friday.
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