WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:01.320
<v Speaker 1>We have good news.

2
00:00:01.720 --> 00:00:05.280
<v Speaker 2>We have a candidate on the Republican side, a serious candidate.

3
00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:07.919
<v Speaker 2>Some other guy filed a run, but nobody's heard of him,

4
00:00:07.919 --> 00:00:10.080
<v Speaker 2>and I'm not taking him seriously. I am taking my

5
00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:14.359
<v Speaker 2>next guest seriously. He is the Olpaso District Attorney. He

6
00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:17.480
<v Speaker 2>is Michael Allen. Michael, welcome to the show.

7
00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:20.280
<v Speaker 3>Thank you for having me. Mandy, it's always a pleasure

8
00:00:20.320 --> 00:00:20.879
<v Speaker 3>to talk with you.

9
00:00:21.239 --> 00:00:24.640
<v Speaker 2>Well, I'm excited about the potential of your candidacy because

10
00:00:24.679 --> 00:00:28.760
<v Speaker 2>you have this word. Let's see, you actually have experience

11
00:00:29.399 --> 00:00:33.479
<v Speaker 2>as a prosecutor, and you've actually done a very similar

12
00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:36.600
<v Speaker 2>job in the courtroom. I'm thrilled that that would be

13
00:00:36.679 --> 00:00:39.280
<v Speaker 2>returned to the Attorney General's office. Tell me a little

14
00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:41.240
<v Speaker 2>bit about your track record for people who don't know you.

15
00:00:41.960 --> 00:00:45.039
<v Speaker 3>Yeah. So I'm the elected daid down in the fourth

16
00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:48.240
<v Speaker 3>judicial district, which is Elpaso in Teller County's biggest city

17
00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:51.759
<v Speaker 3>in this district is Colorado Springs, which happens to be

18
00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:55.719
<v Speaker 3>the second largest city in Colorado, and El Paso County

19
00:00:55.759 --> 00:00:58.280
<v Speaker 3>is the largest county in Colorado. We get a lot

20
00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:02.960
<v Speaker 3>of dynamic crimes down here. Unfortunately, just like any large

21
00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:07.519
<v Speaker 3>populated area, it gets most Notably, the Club Q mass

22
00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:11.280
<v Speaker 3>shooting occurred down here just after Thanksgiving a few years back,

23
00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:14.439
<v Speaker 3>and I was lead prosecutre on that, and one of

24
00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:16.760
<v Speaker 3>the things that as district attorney, it was important for

25
00:01:16.840 --> 00:01:20.400
<v Speaker 3>us to really stand up for victims in that case,

26
00:01:20.680 --> 00:01:25.400
<v Speaker 3>just like we do all victims. My overriding principle on

27
00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:29.400
<v Speaker 3>that is that every human has inherent human dignity, and

28
00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:31.000
<v Speaker 3>if you are a victim of crime, I'm going to

29
00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:33.480
<v Speaker 3>stand their shoulders shoulder with you to seek justice. And

30
00:01:33.480 --> 00:01:36.599
<v Speaker 3>that's what we did in that Club Q prosecution, and

31
00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:38.959
<v Speaker 3>we were able to get the second longest prison sentence

32
00:01:39.159 --> 00:01:42.640
<v Speaker 3>in Colorado state history. So you know, that's some of

33
00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:44.400
<v Speaker 3>the stuff that we've done down here. There's a lot more.

34
00:01:44.640 --> 00:01:47.879
<v Speaker 3>We could be on the fund for hours, probably, So.

35
00:01:47.879 --> 00:01:49.959
<v Speaker 2>Tell my people who have never heard of you before,

36
00:01:50.159 --> 00:01:52.560
<v Speaker 2>give them a little bit of your personal background, because

37
00:01:52.920 --> 00:01:54.879
<v Speaker 2>I mean, you have a very impressive resume. And I

38
00:01:54.920 --> 00:01:58.200
<v Speaker 2>put a link to Michael's website on the blog today

39
00:01:58.519 --> 00:02:00.480
<v Speaker 2>where you can see more of his resume the other

40
00:02:00.519 --> 00:02:02.840
<v Speaker 2>steff that he's prosecuted. But tell people a little bit

41
00:02:02.840 --> 00:02:03.640
<v Speaker 2>about yourself.

42
00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:08.039
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I'm a Colorado native, grew up in the north

43
00:02:08.039 --> 00:02:10.960
<v Speaker 3>and West Denver Metro Aris. I was a graduate of

44
00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:13.319
<v Speaker 3>our Borist High School in nineteen ninety one and then

45
00:02:13.719 --> 00:02:15.439
<v Speaker 3>joined the Navy Strail out of high school and did

46
00:02:15.479 --> 00:02:19.960
<v Speaker 3>aviation electronics technician work. So I repaired essentially F eighteen

47
00:02:20.039 --> 00:02:24.840
<v Speaker 3>radar packages and then did that for eight years. Most

48
00:02:24.879 --> 00:02:27.919
<v Speaker 3>recently on that I was stationed on both the USS

49
00:02:27.960 --> 00:02:31.599
<v Speaker 3>Carl Vincent in nineteen ninety six and we were enforcing

50
00:02:31.599 --> 00:02:36.039
<v Speaker 3>no flies on there. And then came back to Colorado

51
00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:38.280
<v Speaker 3>in ninety eight and went to the University of Northern

52
00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:41.199
<v Speaker 3>Colorado where I got my undergraduate degree, and then went

53
00:02:41.199 --> 00:02:44.439
<v Speaker 3>off to Kansas to do law school at the University

54
00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:47.879
<v Speaker 3>of Kansas. And so for everybody that's listening, if you're

55
00:02:47.879 --> 00:02:50.479
<v Speaker 3>in the Denver metro area, that used to be Kansas territory.

56
00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:53.879
<v Speaker 3>So technically everybody hears Kansas jay hockey.

57
00:02:53.599 --> 00:02:57.319
<v Speaker 2>And if they wanted, I was about to say Jayhawks

58
00:02:57.599 --> 00:02:58.960
<v Speaker 2>just to see what you'd say back.

59
00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:01.800
<v Speaker 1>So you know, no, we're not all.

60
00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:04.719
<v Speaker 2>Kansas fans, but go ahead, move on. I'll forgive that.

61
00:03:04.840 --> 00:03:07.319
<v Speaker 2>We'll forget that never happens. So why do you want

62
00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:10.520
<v Speaker 2>to jump into the Attorney General's race?

63
00:03:10.599 --> 00:03:11.680
<v Speaker 1>What do you bring to the table.

64
00:03:12.280 --> 00:03:15.039
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, you know, I think you hit the nail on

65
00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:18.520
<v Speaker 3>the head at the beginning there, and that's experience. You know,

66
00:03:18.919 --> 00:03:22.319
<v Speaker 3>we've been in a situation now where we've had one

67
00:03:22.360 --> 00:03:24.439
<v Speaker 3>party control in the state government for a long time.

68
00:03:24.479 --> 00:03:27.400
<v Speaker 3>We've had a complete lack of balance and that's a

69
00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:29.680
<v Speaker 3>big factor for me, and getting into this race is

70
00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:33.520
<v Speaker 3>getting some common sense and some balance back into state government.

71
00:03:34.919 --> 00:03:38.680
<v Speaker 3>We have, unfortunately, over the last decade roughly seen a

72
00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:40.960
<v Speaker 3>lot of criminal justice reform, a lot of reform that's

73
00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:46.280
<v Speaker 3>been hard on victims, on coloradin's of every variety. And

74
00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:49.240
<v Speaker 3>then we've also seen a business climate that's really changed

75
00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:52.560
<v Speaker 3>for the worst two and the Attorney General's office can

76
00:03:52.599 --> 00:03:55.439
<v Speaker 3>play a big role in all those areas. And as

77
00:03:55.479 --> 00:03:58.840
<v Speaker 3>you mentioned, my experience is unique to the table for

78
00:03:58.919 --> 00:04:02.360
<v Speaker 3>this opportunity, and I want to, you know, provide that

79
00:04:02.599 --> 00:04:05.039
<v Speaker 3>common sense approach to everything that we do, whether it's

80
00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:08.879
<v Speaker 3>business regulation, depaying the state on different things, standing up

81
00:04:08.879 --> 00:04:12.240
<v Speaker 3>for victims, making sure that the Attorney General's offices weighing

82
00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:15.319
<v Speaker 3>in in an appropriate way on criminal justice reform efforts

83
00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:17.959
<v Speaker 3>that continue. We're going to have a busy legislative session

84
00:04:18.560 --> 00:04:21.639
<v Speaker 3>this coming session that actually starts today, and I'll be

85
00:04:21.759 --> 00:04:23.639
<v Speaker 3>up there a lot of da like I always am,

86
00:04:23.680 --> 00:04:25.680
<v Speaker 3>but you know, I can have even more influence of

87
00:04:25.720 --> 00:04:28.560
<v Speaker 3>the Attorney general. And so really it's just about serving

88
00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:29.720
<v Speaker 3>the people of Colorado.

89
00:04:29.959 --> 00:04:31.240
<v Speaker 1>So I'm going to ask you a question.

90
00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:35.920
<v Speaker 2>And you know Attorney General Phil Wiser has filed or joined.

91
00:04:36.040 --> 00:04:39.600
<v Speaker 2>I should also point out, like fifty and I'm not

92
00:04:39.639 --> 00:04:43.560
<v Speaker 2>exaggerating that number is fifty. I believe lawsuits against the

93
00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:44.560
<v Speaker 2>Trump administration.

94
00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:46.480
<v Speaker 1>Let's just say.

95
00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:49.959
<v Speaker 2>That the next the next governor is a Democrat and

96
00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:54.439
<v Speaker 2>you are elected attorney general. How do you handle either

97
00:04:54.519 --> 00:04:58.040
<v Speaker 2>deciding to sue or not sue the Trump administration when

98
00:04:58.120 --> 00:05:00.959
<v Speaker 2>you're dealing with a Democrat governor.

99
00:05:02.519 --> 00:05:05.920
<v Speaker 3>You know, I'm not sure that whoever the government is

100
00:05:05.959 --> 00:05:08.160
<v Speaker 3>would have a lot of say on that, you know,

101
00:05:08.360 --> 00:05:12.319
<v Speaker 3>the two totally different elected positions between governor and Attorney general.

102
00:05:12.680 --> 00:05:16.680
<v Speaker 3>I think the Attorney General has its own electoral authority

103
00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:19.480
<v Speaker 3>to decide to sue or not to sue any entity,

104
00:05:19.480 --> 00:05:22.720
<v Speaker 3>whether it's the federal government or otherwise. So I would

105
00:05:22.759 --> 00:05:26.480
<v Speaker 3>take that approach first and foremost. Secondly, I'm always going

106
00:05:26.519 --> 00:05:29.720
<v Speaker 3>to take a position of how does this affect the

107
00:05:29.720 --> 00:05:32.199
<v Speaker 3>people of Colorado? Does it make sense to file a

108
00:05:32.279 --> 00:05:34.920
<v Speaker 3>lawsuit here and will that serve the interests of the

109
00:05:34.920 --> 00:05:37.720
<v Speaker 3>people of this great state or is this going to

110
00:05:37.720 --> 00:05:41.079
<v Speaker 3>be just a purely politically motivated lawsuit. And I think

111
00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:44.240
<v Speaker 3>what you're hitting on is that we've seen very politically

112
00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:48.120
<v Speaker 3>motivated lawsuits being filed against the federal government, and you

113
00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:50.759
<v Speaker 3>know there are going to be times when it will

114
00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:52.399
<v Speaker 3>be in the best interests of the people of the

115
00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:55.199
<v Speaker 3>state to file lawsuit against the federal government and it

116
00:05:55.240 --> 00:05:59.319
<v Speaker 3>won't matter who the president is. We've seen over years

117
00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:02.279
<v Speaker 3>and years that there's time when states have to stand

118
00:06:02.360 --> 00:06:04.920
<v Speaker 3>up for their rights and file lawsuits. But they should

119
00:06:04.959 --> 00:06:09.360
<v Speaker 3>never be done to advance somebody's own political career. That

120
00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:12.120
<v Speaker 3>should always be done to serve the interest of this

121
00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:12.680
<v Speaker 3>great state.

122
00:06:13.319 --> 00:06:15.199
<v Speaker 1>So Michael Allen is my guest.

123
00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:18.399
<v Speaker 2>He is not only a district attorney in the fourth

124
00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:21.800
<v Speaker 2>Judicial District down in El Paso and Teller County, he's

125
00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:25.360
<v Speaker 2>also running for attorney general on the Republican side. Michael,

126
00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:28.079
<v Speaker 2>I want to ask you a question about people are

127
00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:30.920
<v Speaker 2>now worried. It's kind of funny depending on who's in charge,

128
00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:34.959
<v Speaker 2>the people get worried about the weaponization of offices like

129
00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:37.639
<v Speaker 2>the Department of Justice at the federal level. And to

130
00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:41.160
<v Speaker 2>your point about the sort of political nature of some

131
00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:44.319
<v Speaker 2>of these lawsuits the Attorney general's office, what do you

132
00:06:44.399 --> 00:06:49.319
<v Speaker 2>say to people who are genuinely concerned that this office

133
00:06:49.720 --> 00:06:52.480
<v Speaker 2>would be weaponized against them.

134
00:06:53.160 --> 00:06:56.879
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, well, I mean the front runner on the Democrat

135
00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:00.000
<v Speaker 3>side is our current Secretar of State, and she's already

136
00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:03.399
<v Speaker 3>be done politically motivated, I would call them stunctually when

137
00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:06.959
<v Speaker 3>she tried to keep Donald Trump off the ballot just

138
00:07:07.040 --> 00:07:09.560
<v Speaker 3>this last election, and that case went all the way

139
00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:13.240
<v Speaker 3>to the US Supreme Court, and it is very rare

140
00:07:13.279 --> 00:07:15.639
<v Speaker 3>to get a ruling from the Supreme Court that is unanimous,

141
00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:18.600
<v Speaker 3>but it was nine zero against her position. That means

142
00:07:19.519 --> 00:07:23.199
<v Speaker 3>both the conservative justices and the liberal justices all agreed

143
00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:26.160
<v Speaker 3>that she was completely flat out wrong in what she did.

144
00:07:26.839 --> 00:07:29.680
<v Speaker 3>And so if you take that as a litmus test

145
00:07:29.959 --> 00:07:32.199
<v Speaker 3>and then apply it to the authority and the power

146
00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:35.839
<v Speaker 3>of an Attorney general's office, you can only imagine what

147
00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:40.120
<v Speaker 3>would be used to her advantage that way. And you're

148
00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:44.279
<v Speaker 3>exactly right the idea that either criminal prosecution or even

149
00:07:44.319 --> 00:07:49.040
<v Speaker 3>civil litigation, that's a lot of authority and can have

150
00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:53.199
<v Speaker 3>very far ranging impacts on people's individual lives, on policy

151
00:07:53.240 --> 00:07:57.759
<v Speaker 3>within the state, and we need to stop and really

152
00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:02.560
<v Speaker 3>get away from having any politicallynovated lawsuits or criminal prosecutions

153
00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:05.600
<v Speaker 3>and get back to what I think has been part

154
00:08:05.639 --> 00:08:08.560
<v Speaker 3>of the Republican Party platform for a really long time,

155
00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:10.120
<v Speaker 3>and that is that we are a rule of law

156
00:08:10.160 --> 00:08:12.519
<v Speaker 3>country and we need to get back to that as

157
00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:13.519
<v Speaker 3>a guiding principle.

158
00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:16.319
<v Speaker 2>So what do you think the biggest issues that you

159
00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:19.879
<v Speaker 2>would be tackling as attorney general? Obviously you are in

160
00:08:19.920 --> 00:08:23.120
<v Speaker 2>the criminal justice system already, so you probably have a

161
00:08:23.160 --> 00:08:24.959
<v Speaker 2>better idea into where.

162
00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:25.879
<v Speaker 1>That focus should be.

163
00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:28.839
<v Speaker 2>What would you like to see the Attorney General's office

164
00:08:28.839 --> 00:08:31.000
<v Speaker 2>really focus on in your say, your first year.

165
00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:36.639
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, well, you know, there's a wide swath of authority

166
00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:38.960
<v Speaker 3>that the Attorney General's office brings to bear, and most

167
00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:41.559
<v Speaker 3>of it is in the civil realm, defending the state

168
00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:45.480
<v Speaker 3>against all kinds of lawsuits, different agencies, that kind of thing.

169
00:08:46.080 --> 00:08:48.279
<v Speaker 3>But I think the biggest place that we can have

170
00:08:48.360 --> 00:08:50.440
<v Speaker 3>and the impact, is changing the way that we look

171
00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:53.720
<v Speaker 3>at criminal prosecution. And the Attorney General's Office, despite what

172
00:08:53.799 --> 00:08:57.399
<v Speaker 3>some people will say, does have a pretty wide swaths

173
00:08:57.399 --> 00:09:01.320
<v Speaker 3>of authority there as well. They have you know jurisdiction

174
00:09:01.399 --> 00:09:04.240
<v Speaker 3>over certain specific cases, but they also help out with

175
00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:08.639
<v Speaker 3>smaller jurisdictions around the state on their prosecutions. And if

176
00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:11.879
<v Speaker 3>you just look at, for instance, motor vehicle theft in

177
00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:14.159
<v Speaker 3>the state, we've obviously been on the wrong side of

178
00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:16.679
<v Speaker 3>the ledger as far as our ranking where I think

179
00:09:16.840 --> 00:09:19.399
<v Speaker 3>forty seventh in the nation in the rate of motor

180
00:09:19.480 --> 00:09:22.000
<v Speaker 3>vehicle theft in the state. That's not where we need

181
00:09:22.039 --> 00:09:25.600
<v Speaker 3>to be. And that's a result of policies. It's a

182
00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:29.080
<v Speaker 3>result of bad legislation, and it's a result in some

183
00:09:29.200 --> 00:09:31.639
<v Speaker 3>places of maybe not prosecuting those cases the way they

184
00:09:31.639 --> 00:09:34.039
<v Speaker 3>should be. And what we've done down here in the

185
00:09:34.039 --> 00:09:37.559
<v Speaker 3>fourth Judicial District is we dedicated a prosecutor an investigator

186
00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:41.080
<v Speaker 3>towards those those types of cases. In twenty twenty four,

187
00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:44.080
<v Speaker 3>we had over five thousand motor vehicle theft cases. Twenty

188
00:09:44.120 --> 00:09:46.159
<v Speaker 3>twenty five, we dropped that down to less than fifteen

189
00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:48.720
<v Speaker 3>hundred by roughly the end of November of twenty twenty five.

190
00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:52.159
<v Speaker 3>So that shows you that you can take resources that

191
00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:55.759
<v Speaker 3>you have in staff, apply them to specific problems and

192
00:09:55.759 --> 00:09:59.679
<v Speaker 3>have an immediate impact. And where this impacts the wider

193
00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:02.879
<v Speaker 3>communit is We've got some of the highest motor vehicle

194
00:10:03.159 --> 00:10:06.799
<v Speaker 3>insurance rates in the entire country because of natural disasters

195
00:10:06.840 --> 00:10:09.759
<v Speaker 3>obviously hail and that kind of thing, but also because

196
00:10:09.799 --> 00:10:11.679
<v Speaker 3>of the motor vehicle theft issues that we've got in

197
00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:13.960
<v Speaker 3>the state. And so if you can attack a problem

198
00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:16.600
<v Speaker 3>that way, that has an economic benefit for the rest

199
00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:19.559
<v Speaker 3>of the state that doesn't have their carstole even though

200
00:10:19.559 --> 00:10:22.960
<v Speaker 3>they're paying higher intern rates because we have that problem

201
00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:23.639
<v Speaker 3>existing here.

202
00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:26.159
<v Speaker 2>What are these things that I don't know if this

203
00:10:26.200 --> 00:10:29.080
<v Speaker 2>would even be appropriate for the Attorney General to involve

204
00:10:29.240 --> 00:10:33.559
<v Speaker 2>him or herself in, but the issue of the rape

205
00:10:33.879 --> 00:10:37.399
<v Speaker 2>kit backlog here in the state of Colorado, I mean

206
00:10:37.799 --> 00:10:42.039
<v Speaker 2>I find that appalling. I can't even imagine being sexually

207
00:10:42.039 --> 00:10:44.440
<v Speaker 2>assaulted and then being told, oh, we might get to

208
00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:47.279
<v Speaker 2>it in the next eighteen months, right, I mean that's

209
00:10:47.399 --> 00:10:48.120
<v Speaker 2>not okay.

210
00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:51.360
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, that is absolutely not okay. What that means is

211
00:10:51.399 --> 00:10:54.600
<v Speaker 3>that one what you just hit on the human effect

212
00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:57.919
<v Speaker 3>of this, that victims have to live knowing that their

213
00:10:58.039 --> 00:11:00.519
<v Speaker 3>attacker is out there in the community. They have not arrested,

214
00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:04.360
<v Speaker 3>the investigations not been completed, DNA samples have not been

215
00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:07.960
<v Speaker 3>processed and identified, and so these victims are living in

216
00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:11.799
<v Speaker 3>a state of fear that also potentially victimizes other people.

217
00:11:11.799 --> 00:11:15.360
<v Speaker 3>If this is somebody that is, you know, taking advantage

218
00:11:15.399 --> 00:11:18.360
<v Speaker 3>of multiple people or looking to take advantage of multiple people,

219
00:11:18.919 --> 00:11:21.960
<v Speaker 3>and frankly, it's a failure of government. One of the

220
00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:26.039
<v Speaker 3>fundamental requirements of government is to provide public safety. And

221
00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:28.440
<v Speaker 3>if we can't do that on an effective basis because

222
00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:30.799
<v Speaker 3>of backlog issues, that needs to be addressed, and it

223
00:11:30.799 --> 00:11:33.639
<v Speaker 3>should have been addressed a long time ago. But I

224
00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:35.480
<v Speaker 3>certainly can weigh in on that as well, I mean

225
00:11:35.960 --> 00:11:36.720
<v Speaker 3>as much as I can.

226
00:11:36.919 --> 00:11:39.559
<v Speaker 2>Last I saw there were literally like women just raising

227
00:11:39.639 --> 00:11:41.559
<v Speaker 2>money to see if they could send them.

228
00:11:41.639 --> 00:11:43.840
<v Speaker 1>I mean, that's that is shameful. Now.

229
00:11:44.039 --> 00:11:46.440
<v Speaker 2>One of the other things that I think when people

230
00:11:46.480 --> 00:11:50.159
<v Speaker 2>think about, you know, criminal justice in this state is

231
00:11:50.360 --> 00:11:54.120
<v Speaker 2>sort of the way that the attitudes towards law enforcement

232
00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:57.480
<v Speaker 2>since the summer of quote love in twenty twenty. Is

233
00:11:57.480 --> 00:11:59.840
<v Speaker 2>there anything that the Attorney general can do to fur

234
00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:02.360
<v Speaker 2>or bridge the gap, because I do think in the

235
00:12:02.440 --> 00:12:04.759
<v Speaker 2>last year or so that I do think strides have

236
00:12:04.759 --> 00:12:07.559
<v Speaker 2>been made a little bit. But is there anything that

237
00:12:07.559 --> 00:12:10.039
<v Speaker 2>the Attorney general can do to either set the tone

238
00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:14.320
<v Speaker 2>or change the tone or tenor of that conversation.

239
00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:18.679
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, well, you know, there certainly is something that the

240
00:12:18.679 --> 00:12:21.120
<v Speaker 3>Attorney general can do, and what we've seen from current

241
00:12:21.240 --> 00:12:24.679
<v Speaker 3>leadership in the Attorney General's officers to actually file lawsuits

242
00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:28.120
<v Speaker 3>against individual law enforcement officers around the state because they

243
00:12:28.159 --> 00:12:31.039
<v Speaker 3>happen to be working on a criminal case that involves

244
00:12:31.080 --> 00:12:36.639
<v Speaker 3>immigration issues. And that's a direct attack from a cheap

245
00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:39.759
<v Speaker 3>law enforcement officer for the entire state of Colorado against

246
00:12:39.919 --> 00:12:42.559
<v Speaker 3>uniform law enforcement on the street trying to protect all

247
00:12:42.600 --> 00:12:44.720
<v Speaker 3>of us. So that's one way that we can have

248
00:12:44.759 --> 00:12:49.879
<v Speaker 3>a big impact on both the morale and support to

249
00:12:49.960 --> 00:12:52.639
<v Speaker 3>law enforcement is to stop some of that nonsense, don't

250
00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:56.279
<v Speaker 3>I can't imagine a scenario where I would be in

251
00:12:56.279 --> 00:12:58.120
<v Speaker 3>a position where I'd want to file a civil lawsuit

252
00:12:58.159 --> 00:12:59.799
<v Speaker 3>against law enforcement for doing their job.

253
00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:04.360
<v Speaker 2>What is do you think the biggest criminal issue facing Colorado?

254
00:13:04.440 --> 00:13:04.679
<v Speaker 1>Now?

255
00:13:06.440 --> 00:13:09.960
<v Speaker 3>I think it's multiple layers there. I think we've seen

256
00:13:10.159 --> 00:13:13.039
<v Speaker 3>criminal justice reform over the last several years that's had

257
00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:17.840
<v Speaker 3>a really detrimental impact on what's happening in crime. We've had,

258
00:13:18.320 --> 00:13:20.519
<v Speaker 3>like you said, the attack on law enforcement from our

259
00:13:20.600 --> 00:13:25.480
<v Speaker 3>legislative legislative branch with our Police Accountability bill that really

260
00:13:25.519 --> 00:13:32.200
<v Speaker 3>impacted retention and recruitment efforts and really are permissive drug culture.

261
00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:36.320
<v Speaker 3>When we have a situation in Colorado that dangerous drugs

262
00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:39.559
<v Speaker 3>like fentanyl and heroin and methamphetamine are decriminalized to a

263
00:13:39.639 --> 00:13:43.960
<v Speaker 3>misdemeanor for four grams or less, that creates the perfect

264
00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:46.919
<v Speaker 3>recipe for what we saw with the fennyl epidemic, where

265
00:13:46.919 --> 00:13:50.080
<v Speaker 3>we've had thousands of our friends and neighbors and relatives

266
00:13:50.120 --> 00:13:54.519
<v Speaker 3>die from fentyl poisonings. So, you know, I think it's

267
00:13:54.600 --> 00:13:57.279
<v Speaker 3>multiple factors that go into all of the issues that

268
00:13:57.320 --> 00:13:59.759
<v Speaker 3>we're dealing with, and we've got to start being more

269
00:13:59.759 --> 00:14:03.200
<v Speaker 3>common sense approached in how we attack those problems and

270
00:14:03.399 --> 00:14:05.600
<v Speaker 3>using resources like I used the example on the motor

271
00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:06.279
<v Speaker 3>vehicle theft.

272
00:14:07.559 --> 00:14:10.039
<v Speaker 2>Michael Allen is my guest. He's running for district attorney.

273
00:14:10.039 --> 00:14:12.919
<v Speaker 2>One last question and I got it in multiple ways. Oh,

274
00:14:12.919 --> 00:14:15.600
<v Speaker 2>I'm sorry, he's running for attorney general. He is currently

275
00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:16.399
<v Speaker 2>a district attorney.

276
00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:16.559
<v Speaker 3>Ye.

277
00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:19.480
<v Speaker 2>I got this text top ten in the nation for

278
00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:20.679
<v Speaker 2>human trafficking.

279
00:14:21.080 --> 00:14:22.440
<v Speaker 1>What are you doing about this?

280
00:14:22.440 --> 00:14:25.879
<v Speaker 2>This It's so weird to me that the concept of

281
00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:29.519
<v Speaker 2>being concerned about human trafficking is somehow seen as a

282
00:14:29.600 --> 00:14:32.559
<v Speaker 2>right wing idea. I don't understand how we got here,

283
00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:35.320
<v Speaker 2>but that seems to be what it is. A lot

284
00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:37.519
<v Speaker 2>of my listeners are super concerned about that. I have

285
00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:39.960
<v Speaker 2>probably three or four text messages about it. I don't

286
00:14:39.960 --> 00:14:42.600
<v Speaker 2>have a ton of text messages. So what is the

287
00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:44.879
<v Speaker 2>state of human trafficking? Should that be something that we

288
00:14:44.919 --> 00:14:45.960
<v Speaker 2>pushed to the forefront.

289
00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:49.120
<v Speaker 3>Absolutely should be something that we pushed to the forefront.

290
00:14:49.159 --> 00:14:53.120
<v Speaker 3>You know, I think it was last legislative legislative session

291
00:14:53.240 --> 00:14:57.960
<v Speaker 3>where there was a built to require prison for sexualistlip

292
00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:00.759
<v Speaker 3>on children and that failed. In some the comments that

293
00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:04.799
<v Speaker 3>were voiced in committee, we're worried about what will happen

294
00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:06.600
<v Speaker 3>to the offender if they have to go to prison

295
00:15:06.840 --> 00:15:07.960
<v Speaker 3>under that sort of a triumph.

296
00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:08.559
<v Speaker 1>Oh my god.

297
00:15:08.679 --> 00:15:11.519
<v Speaker 3>So that's looking at it from the exact opposite way

298
00:15:11.559 --> 00:15:13.240
<v Speaker 3>that it should be looked at, in a common sense

299
00:15:13.240 --> 00:15:16.080
<v Speaker 3>way that should be looked at it. I am heartened

300
00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:18.159
<v Speaker 3>that we maybe are going to have some good legislation

301
00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:21.039
<v Speaker 3>on that this session. You know, we had a press

302
00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:24.000
<v Speaker 3>conference just last week. I believe it was with many

303
00:15:24.080 --> 00:15:27.360
<v Speaker 3>different people from both sides of the aisle supporting something there.

304
00:15:27.799 --> 00:15:29.840
<v Speaker 3>But that's another area I think that the Attorney General

305
00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:32.679
<v Speaker 3>can be effective. They have the ability to use the

306
00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:36.639
<v Speaker 3>state wide grand jury to deal with you know, wide

307
00:15:36.840 --> 00:15:39.799
<v Speaker 3>ranging criminal activity that affects the entire state through that

308
00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:42.639
<v Speaker 3>grand jury process, and something that would definitely look at

309
00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:46.120
<v Speaker 3>using against human trafficking too, because it's not just an

310
00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:49.639
<v Speaker 3>isolated thing that happens in one neighborhood. For human traffing

311
00:15:49.720 --> 00:15:53.440
<v Speaker 3>to occur, it requires networks and a coordination between many

312
00:15:53.480 --> 00:15:54.080
<v Speaker 3>different people.

313
00:15:54.840 --> 00:15:57.080
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, like I said, I don't understand how that ever

314
00:15:57.159 --> 00:15:58.720
<v Speaker 2>became a left right thing.

315
00:15:58.799 --> 00:15:59.879
<v Speaker 1>I really don't.

316
00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:02.919
<v Speaker 2>That seems like so baffling to me. I truly don't

317
00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:03.559
<v Speaker 2>understand it.

318
00:16:03.879 --> 00:16:04.480
<v Speaker 1>Michael Allen.

319
00:16:04.519 --> 00:16:07.559
<v Speaker 2>I appreciate the time today. I'm excited that you're in

320
00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:08.000
<v Speaker 2>the race.

321
00:16:08.120 --> 00:16:08.320
<v Speaker 1>You know.

322
00:16:08.360 --> 00:16:11.440
<v Speaker 2>I like having what I perceive to be good, strong candidates,

323
00:16:11.480 --> 00:16:13.559
<v Speaker 2>and I believe that you're a good, strong candidate for

324
00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:16.799
<v Speaker 2>Attorney General. So we'll have you on again before we

325
00:16:16.840 --> 00:16:19.080
<v Speaker 2>get up to the primaries and get out there and

326
00:16:19.120 --> 00:16:23.799
<v Speaker 2>pound the pavement, because we cannot allow the wildly partisan

327
00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:27.120
<v Speaker 2>Jenna Griswold to get into that office. I can only

328
00:16:27.159 --> 00:16:29.720
<v Speaker 2>imagine after seeing what she's said to the Secretary of

329
00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:33.480
<v Speaker 2>State's office, which is like the least controversial office in

330
00:16:33.600 --> 00:16:36.639
<v Speaker 2>statewide elected office. I shudder to think what she would

331
00:16:36.679 --> 00:16:39.320
<v Speaker 2>do as attorney general. I appreciate your time today.

332
00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:42.279
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, thank you, Mandy. I appreciate it and I'd be

333
00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:43.720
<v Speaker 3>happy to come on any time you will.

334
00:16:43.559 --> 00:16:46.159
<v Speaker 2>Have me, all right, That is Michael Allen. Thanks sir,

335
00:16:47.559 --> 00:16:51.080
<v Speaker 2>we will talk to you again soon. And nice guy.

336
00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:51.919
<v Speaker 3>I like him.