Speaker 1: This is Dan Capless and welcome to today's online podcast
Speaker 1: edition of The Dan Caplis Show. Please be sure to
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Speaker 2: Cap Show, Day two of three. The checking Out guest
Speaker 2: host Steve Reims Well, can you sheriff filling in? It's
Speaker 2: always a pleasure to fill in for Dan when he's
Speaker 2: out doing his trial work or trial prep, as I
Speaker 2: guess it is this week. But you know, it's an
Speaker 2: interesting day when you get a chance to fill in
Speaker 2: for one of the one of the guys that has
Speaker 2: the biggest, one of the biggest talk shows in the
Speaker 2: Denver metro area. And when you're doing that, sometimes you
Speaker 2: get phone calls or text messages from people that say, Hey,
Speaker 2: we'd like to get a little bit of time on
Speaker 2: your radio show. And that's exactly what happened. At the
Speaker 2: end of the show yesterday. We've been talking about some
Speaker 2: breaking news that had been announced by House Rep. Ryan
Speaker 2: Armagoss from HD sixty four. He announced that he was
Speaker 2: going to be stepping down and relocating to Arizona to
Speaker 2: pursue greener pastures for himself, and of course that leaves
Speaker 2: an open seat. So HD sixty four, for those of
Speaker 2: you that don't know, kind of goes around the Birthed
Speaker 2: area up into Weld County, across the county line Johnstown, Milliken,
Speaker 2: and over to the west side of Greeley. Also encompasses
Speaker 2: a little bit of Mead again for those of you
Speaker 2: that are familiar with northern Colorado. But it's a very
Speaker 2: important seat because, as anyone that's been following the legislature knows,
Speaker 2: every Republican seat matters at this point. So I believe
Speaker 2: we're going to have a little bit of a duke
Speaker 2: out for some folks trying to figure out how to
Speaker 2: fill that seat or the remainder of Ryan Armagos's term.
Speaker 2: And the first person that called and said, hey, I'd
Speaker 2: like to throw my hat in the ring is the
Speaker 2: mayor of Mead. Her name is Colleen Whitlow, and she's
Speaker 2: with us on the line. Colleen, how are you doing
Speaker 2: this afternoon.
Speaker 3: I'm very good. Thank you Steve for having me.
Speaker 2: You bet, it's a pleasure to have you on. And
Speaker 2: I've known you for a while from your work down
Speaker 2: in Mead. But today you're kind of, I guess, officially
Speaker 2: announcing your canadacy to be a canon it for the
Speaker 2: HD sixty four seat. Is that correct?
Speaker 3: I am, and I would like to say thank you
Speaker 3: to Representative Armor godsh for these years of service not
Speaker 3: only for the country, but for this district and for
Speaker 3: our state.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Ryan was a former law enforcement officer, a former
Speaker 2: military officer or former military member. And of course, as
Speaker 2: you said HD sixty four Rep. So, Colleen, I know
Speaker 2: you're the mayor of Mead, but you've had an interest
Speaker 2: in politics for quite some time. What makes you want
Speaker 2: to jump in this HD sixty four race and exactly
Speaker 2: what does it look like to jump in this seat
Speaker 2: or to jump in the mix to run for this seat?
Speaker 3: Well, Steve, I want to contribute more and bring my
Speaker 3: public service not only to this you know, this community,
Speaker 3: but to all of the district. And then I think
Speaker 3: I have a really good grasp of what's happening down
Speaker 3: at the state Capitol and in our for our district.
Speaker 3: So I really just want to expand my professional service
Speaker 3: to those who and continue Representative Armags fight down at
Speaker 3: the Capitol.
Speaker 2: Sure, and as I've introduced to you, the mayor of me,
Speaker 2: but give the listeners just a little bit more of
Speaker 2: your background so they kind of know how you got
Speaker 2: to that position and kind of what guided you to
Speaker 2: your pathway to the mayor of Mead, Colorado.
Speaker 4: You bet.
Speaker 3: I was in the military to Air Force Airman station
Speaker 3: over at Clark Air Base, and then I went to
Speaker 3: Langley Air Force Base. And after that I was a
Speaker 3: project manager for IBM. I did federal proposals mostly in
Speaker 3: DC back and forth, and then I decided I was
Speaker 3: going to do more of a community base, and I
Speaker 3: became a trustee in twenty fourteen and ran for the
Speaker 3: mayor of twenty eighteen, and it's concentrating on more of
Speaker 3: giving back to those who in my local area and
Speaker 3: currently I'm doing that and also am the vice chair
Speaker 3: of the Denver Regional Government of COGG, which is down
Speaker 3: in Denver. And also I serve as the Colorado Immunia
Speaker 3: League Public Policy for as a representative. So there's a
Speaker 3: lot of different things that are I contribute to and
Speaker 3: making sure that I have the time and focus to
Speaker 3: do the things that I need to do for my
Speaker 3: community in this region.
Speaker 2: Well, God bless you for wanting to jump into one
Speaker 2: of those House rep seats, because that is not something
Speaker 2: that is very appealing to most, especially myself. But what
Speaker 2: exactly does it look like when a vacancy occurs, because
Speaker 2: it's not going to go back to an election of
Speaker 2: the people. I know there's a vacancy committee, but what
Speaker 2: is that constructed of, how does that what's the maneuvering
Speaker 2: to even become a candidate and who do you got
Speaker 2: to appeal to get that seat?
Speaker 3: Yeah, thanks for the question. The vacancy committee select selects
Speaker 3: actually the replacement, and it's comprised of the executive committee,
Speaker 3: elected official, the state officials, community excuse me, the commissioners
Speaker 3: of the county commissioners, all what's encompassed in the not
Speaker 3: just Well county and so all the precinct community, the
Speaker 3: committee persons and all of that within the same political party.
Speaker 3: And they'd have to hear adhere to the House built
Speaker 3: twenty five Dash thirteen fifteen that was just passed last year.
Speaker 3: And so that's concerning the vacancies of the General Assembly
Speaker 3: which was passed and signed last year.
Speaker 4: But it is a very.
Speaker 3: Interesting process and I've already reached out to the chair
Speaker 3: to get information on how to contact these folks to
Speaker 3: make sure that you know, I reach out to them
Speaker 3: and let them know that I am of you know,
Speaker 3: wanting to do this, and I think I I know
Speaker 3: I will do a great job for this for this
Speaker 3: district of sixty four well, and.
Speaker 2: I believe there may be some competition in the works
Speaker 2: for you. But without naming any names, obviously, what is
Speaker 2: it that you bring to the table that maybe a
Speaker 2: potential opponent wouldn't. What makes you the most qualified person
Speaker 2: to fill in that seat, because you know the competentition
Speaker 2: breeds excellence, But you know what makes you stronger than
Speaker 2: any opponent you might face.
Speaker 3: Well, I've been following legislation ever since twenty fourteen. When
Speaker 3: I became a I would say a civilian, I was,
Speaker 3: you know, not doing project management for IBM. And I
Speaker 3: believe that I with my background of military and project
Speaker 3: management and legislative help and running and doing this job
Speaker 3: as the mayor of the town of Meet and collaborating
Speaker 3: with all elected officials and community members across this district,
Speaker 3: I feel and I will do the job that is
Speaker 3: adhere to this and I do believe that Representative Armagus
Speaker 3: has set a high bar that I will continue to Foster.
Speaker 2: Okay, I guess we'll just finish with this. I know
Speaker 2: a lot of the consternation about, you know, the General
Speaker 2: Assembly has been that a lot of the people down
Speaker 2: there are in appointed positions, you know, in other words,
Speaker 2: they weren't elected through the normal process. If you do
Speaker 2: seek the seat and win, will you will you are
Speaker 2: you vowing to run to keep that seat or you're
Speaker 2: going to run for reelection if you're if you're appointed
Speaker 2: to it as an HD sixty four Rep.
Speaker 3: I plan on running running a reelection to become you know,
Speaker 3: the to fulfill everything that is in this seat for
Speaker 3: years to come. So that's my plan. And in some
Speaker 3: of these issues that are coming up that I would
Speaker 3: like to bring in to prioritize is affordability, public safety,
Speaker 3: protect tabor, and fight for our parents will rights.
Speaker 4: And that's what I'll do.
Speaker 2: Okay, fair enough, well, Colleen, thanks for being on with us.
Speaker 2: We'll go ahead and end it with that, but good
Speaker 2: luck to you and keep us updated on how things
Speaker 2: are going. And if if we need to get you
Speaker 2: on again, just reach out to me. Obviously you know
Speaker 2: how to get in contact with me. But thanks for
Speaker 2: being on the show with us.
Speaker 3: Thank you, Steve again for your time, and thank you
Speaker 3: to the viewers for listening.
Speaker 2: You bet so that was Colleen Whitlow, the mayor of Mead.
Speaker 2: You know, the HD sixty four race may not mean
Speaker 2: a lot to everyone in the state, but quite honestly,
Speaker 2: there's not a seat in this state that isn't important.
Speaker 2: Given the makeup of the general legislature. I think HD
Speaker 2: sixty four is a pretty safe seat for Republicans, but
Speaker 2: if you don't get the right candidate in there, then
Speaker 2: it becomes a target for the Democrats to try to
Speaker 2: take over. And I think that's kind of what Representative
Speaker 2: armagust is probably trying to ensure doesn't occur with him exiting.
Speaker 2: I don't know's if he's necessarily supporting one candidate or another,
Speaker 2: but maybe we'll find that out if we get another
Speaker 2: candidate on. And I think we're going to have a
Speaker 2: potential opponent for Mayor Whitlow on tomorrow tomorrow at the
Speaker 2: start of the show, so we'll get a little back
Speaker 2: and forth and see if we can't make some difference
Speaker 2: in that HD sixty four race. While we're sitting in
Speaker 2: here covering Dan's show, but before we go to break
Speaker 2: I just want to tease something that I saw this
Speaker 2: morning on the news, and I think it probably matters
Speaker 2: to a lot of you guys, and it definitely matters
Speaker 2: to me as a person in law enforcement. You know,
Speaker 2: we just talked about this HD sixty four race and
Speaker 2: how important it is, and we definitely need to the
Speaker 2: state of Colorado, whether you're a Democrat or a Republican,
Speaker 2: needs to see some balance at the state House because
Speaker 2: the laws in this state have gone to the way
Speaker 2: of the criminals. In other words, the punishments are very low.
Speaker 2: We have no death penalty on the table anymore. Capital
Speaker 2: crime is kind of unchecked in this state. You're not
Speaker 2: going to be sentenced to death even if you do
Speaker 2: the most heinous acts. And that comes to mind because
Speaker 2: of what we heard this morning coming out of Idaho
Speaker 2: with the Brian Coberger incident where he murdered the four
Speaker 2: teams at the University of Idaho. As a law enforcement officer,
Speaker 2: I find it just stunning to me that you can
Speaker 2: have a state like Colorado with the population we have
Speaker 2: and say, no, we have no death penalty on the
Speaker 2: table in Idaho. They're arguing right now, there's some survivors
Speaker 2: of the victims, I guess that are upset that that
Speaker 2: death penalty has been removed in lieu of getting a
Speaker 2: plea agreement with Brian Koberger for our life in prison sentence.
Speaker 2: That's not even an option in the state of Colorado.
Speaker 2: So I just want you to think about that a
Speaker 2: little bit as we go to break. If that same
Speaker 2: kind of incident, take the Boulder fire bombing, word it happen,
Speaker 2: you can't even use the threat of a death penalty
Speaker 2: to try to make sure that you incarcerate someone for
Speaker 2: the rest of their life because it's not even a
Speaker 2: tool that can be used on the table. We'll cover
Speaker 2: that and a lot more when we come back from break.
Speaker 2: But again you're listening to Steve Riams while Kenny Sheriff
Speaker 2: here on the Dan Kapla Show six point thirty k how.
Speaker 5: And now back to the Dan Kaplass Show podcast.
Speaker 2: Steve Riams filling in as Dan does some trial work today.
Speaker 2: And when we went to break, I was talking a
Speaker 2: little bit about a frustration that I have here in
Speaker 2: the state of Colorado, and I have to believe some
Speaker 2: of you have that same frustration, and it's that the
Speaker 2: criminal justice system in this state has become quite the joke.
Speaker 2: You know, you can commit the most heinous crimes in
Speaker 2: this state and not even be subjected to the death penalty.
Speaker 2: And well, I know that's a that's an issue in
Speaker 2: many states across across the nation. In the western state
Speaker 2: of Colorado, it seems almost sacrilegious that the death penalty
Speaker 2: would be removed from penalty penalty options for the worst
Speaker 2: criminals out there. I'd kind of like to know what
Speaker 2: you guys think. As the law enforcement officer. Maybe I'm
Speaker 2: jaded on this, maybe I look at it the wrong way,
Speaker 2: but text Dan. You can text Dan at five seven
Speaker 2: seventy three nine, or you can call in three o
Speaker 2: three seven one three eight two five five. I'd love
Speaker 2: to have a back and forth with you on your
Speaker 2: opinion on this, on this issue, but I can tell
Speaker 2: you the lessening of penalties in the state of Colorado
Speaker 2: has become maddening. I mean, we see guys just going
Speaker 2: through a revolving door in and out of my jail.
Speaker 2: You know, they get they get picked up for some
Speaker 2: pretty pretty terrible crimes. They face a judge the next morning,
Speaker 2: get a pr bond, and they're right back out on
Speaker 2: the street. For things that before would have been a
Speaker 2: no bond charge. We're gonna have George Brockler on towards
Speaker 2: the end of the show to talk about a case
Speaker 2: he recently he recently had some success on and and
Speaker 2: I think you're going to be shocked at the sentence
Speaker 2: that this individual got for possession of child pornography. While
Speaker 2: it's a great it's a great win for George Brockler
Speaker 2: the end of the at the end of all this,
Speaker 2: you're going to go, that's that's the that's the penalty
Speaker 2: this guy gets. And I don't want to ruin the
Speaker 2: interview because George is a great storyteller, but it's just
Speaker 2: so frustrating in the world of law enforcement right now
Speaker 2: to know that people can go out and do an
Speaker 2: act similar to what happened down on the Pearl Street
Speaker 2: Mall and Boulder, and the worst thing that's going to
Speaker 2: happen is they're going to get three hots and a
Speaker 2: cot the rest of their life while they're sitting in
Speaker 2: an air conditioned jail or prison somewhere in the state,
Speaker 2: probably watching cable TV and being fat, dumb and happy.
Speaker 2: For those of you that love your your freedom. Yeah,
Speaker 2: that's that's a little bit of a shock to not
Speaker 2: be able to go out and walk around and do
Speaker 2: things outside. But quite frankly, you shouldn't walk on the
Speaker 2: face of the earth when you do something like what
Speaker 2: happened down in Boulder or at many of the other
Speaker 2: incidents we've seen across the state of Colorado. Again, text in,
Speaker 2: call in. You can text start to text with Dan
Speaker 2: at five seven, seven, three nine or call in three
Speaker 2: oh three seven one three eight two five five. I
Speaker 2: know this is a touchy topic, but you have to
Speaker 2: have an opinion on it, and I'd love to hear
Speaker 2: you here what you guys have to say and have
Speaker 2: a little back and forth. But when we talk about
Speaker 2: the state of Colorado and how important it is for
Speaker 2: these House seats and these Senate seats, just remember it
Speaker 2: was when we started losing that majority down to the
Speaker 2: State House and at the end the Senate that we
Speaker 2: can no longer block bills that would remove the death penalty.
Speaker 2: And Ronde Fields herself, Senator Ronde Fields, if you'll remember
Speaker 2: this story, her son, Javon Marshall Fields, was killed by
Speaker 2: a guy named Sir Mario Owens, and long story short,
Speaker 2: he was murdered and Sir Mario Owens was basically trying
Speaker 2: to from what I remember the story, trying to silence
Speaker 2: anyone from from UH, basically diming him out for some
Speaker 2: other crimes. Long story short, he was sentenced to death
Speaker 2: for his crimes against Senator Fields, his son, and while
Speaker 2: Senator Fields was still an active senator, she actually had
Speaker 2: her arm twisted enough to remove the option of death
Speaker 2: penalty in the state of Colorado for UH, for crimes,
Speaker 2: even for the one, even for the person that had
Speaker 2: killed her own son. To me, that's just it's outrageous
Speaker 2: that that even even someone who's been in that situation
Speaker 2: can say, you know, I'm gonna I'm going to follow
Speaker 2: the tide of the Democrats. We're going to remove this
Speaker 2: because that's what's the best for you know, for my party.
Speaker 2: It just it flies in the face of all logic,
Speaker 2: and it looks like we have a collar up on
Speaker 2: the line. Well, give him just a second to kind
Speaker 2: of get programmed here. In the meantime, I read a
Speaker 2: couple of these texts. One of our best texters, Steve
Speaker 2: in Littleton. He says, I guess our caller hung up,
Speaker 2: says Stephen Littleton says it seems everything the Colorado dims
Speaker 2: have done to punish criminals has been done begrudgingly and
Speaker 2: with the least amount of inconvenience to those criminals. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I couldn't agree more. I don't think they try to
Speaker 2: punish criminals. I think they tried to coddle criminals. You know,
Speaker 2: there's not much there's not much desire to keep folks
Speaker 2: in jail. And if you're a retired law enforcement like
Speaker 2: Steve is, you know, you deal with the same two
Speaker 2: percent of the population over and over and over again
Speaker 2: until finally they tip to a point where yep, they've
Speaker 2: committed the worst of the worst. Maybe we get life
Speaker 2: in prison, but life in prison doesn't even mean life
Speaker 2: in prison in the state of Colorado. Then we have
Speaker 2: another texture that's a holdover from well, I guess not
Speaker 2: a holdover, but an early texture. As a response from yesterday,
Speaker 2: some of you guys that were listening yesterday, you'll know
Speaker 2: that I had Dick Wadhams on and he's always a
Speaker 2: controversial character for conservative listeners to a degree. And the
Speaker 2: text here says Steve, I enjoyed your interview with Dick
Speaker 2: Watdams yesterday. I know many have problems with him. But
Speaker 2: in the words of the NATO Chief Mark rut, Daddy
Speaker 2: has to sometimes use strong language. And that's from again
Speaker 2: a loyal listener, Patty. You know, I find it interesting
Speaker 2: whenever we have Dick Watams on the show, because he
Speaker 2: is a controversial figure. But having said all that, you know,
Speaker 2: wouldn't you rather have that guy helping you get in
Speaker 2: the right direction and get some Republicans elected than that
Speaker 2: not having Republicans at all. A few more text rollings
Speaker 2: rolling in and says Dan, I'm in favor of the
Speaker 2: death penalty. Well good, that's at least two of us.
Speaker 2: Another one here says, I say lock up all the criminals,
Speaker 2: not laundry, detergent max penalties for all crime, including jaywalking,
Speaker 2: scare the baddies into being lawful. That's Joseph down in Pueblo.
Speaker 2: You know there's some truth to that. If you give
Speaker 2: everybody a walk on the low level stuff, then you
Speaker 2: know they're not really disincentivized from committing those high level crimes.
Speaker 2: Sometimes you just flat out have to make an example
Speaker 2: out of someone, and I can't think of a case
Speaker 2: in this state where we've truly gone after someone and
Speaker 2: made a hard example out of him in recent time.
Speaker 2: You know, I'll give George Brockler a lot of credit
Speaker 2: for what he's done with the Aurora Theater suspect, But
Speaker 2: even then, no death penalty. You know, we couldn't get there,
Speaker 2: and I think the death penalty option may have been
Speaker 2: removed by the time that case went to trial. It's
Speaker 2: just frustrating. And then you see what's going on up
Speaker 2: in Idaho. They do have the death penalty available and
Speaker 2: it's by firing squad, which if the death penalty ever
Speaker 2: comes back to the state of Colorado, I hope it's
Speaker 2: in that version. All that being said, you've got a
Speaker 2: couple of families up there that are arguing over whether
Speaker 2: this guy should get a plea agreement and get to
Speaker 2: just spend life in jail or should he be shot
Speaker 2: and killed. Today, I can't think of a more counterintuitive
Speaker 2: thing than what we're seeing here in Colorado. We'll go
Speaker 2: to break when we come back. We're gonna have another
Speaker 2: law and Order guy on with Justin Smith, the new
Speaker 2: NSA executive director. If you listened to the Dan Capless
Speaker 2: Show here on six point thirty k High with will
Speaker 2: County Sheriff Steve.
Speaker 5: Rings you're listening to the Dan Kaplis Show podcast.
Speaker 2: There's Steve Rams setting in in the driver's seat today,
Speaker 2: filling in for Dan as he does some trial prep.
Speaker 2: And it's with great pleasure I get to introduce this
Speaker 2: next guest. He's been a longtime partner in the county
Speaker 2: to the west of mine, in the Larimer County. Up
Speaker 2: until just a couple of years ago, Justin Smith was
Speaker 2: a Larimer County sheriff for three terms. I started a
Speaker 2: couple of years in the sheriff's seat before I did,
Speaker 2: and he has now moved on to the National Sheriff's
Speaker 2: Association as the executive director, which is a pretty big gig.
Speaker 2: And on the line with us is Justin Smith. Justin,
Speaker 2: how you doing.
Speaker 4: Gee, Great to hear from you, Great to be on
Speaker 4: with you.
Speaker 2: It's great to have you Justin. You know, we've always
Speaker 2: kind of gone back and forth in a joking way
Speaker 2: about you know, how crazy crime in Colorado has gotten.
Speaker 2: And I know that I can't have you on the
Speaker 2: show without at least giving you a little bit of
Speaker 2: time to talk about some of the frustrations you felt
Speaker 2: during your time as as sheriff over in Larmer County.
Speaker 2: I know one of your big issues was the legalization
Speaker 2: of marijuana, but you were also a big force in
Speaker 2: the state when the magazine band went in, when the
Speaker 2: magazine capacity ban went in. How do you feel now,
Speaker 2: since you've kind of walked away from the from the
Speaker 2: actual role of sheriff, what's crime in Colorado feel like
Speaker 2: to you now?
Speaker 6: Well, see, you know, I don't have the day to
Speaker 6: day knowledge of reading the daily reports and having you know,
Speaker 6: that level of activity. But certainly it is continued to
Speaker 6: be concerning because, yeah, I came into the business in
Speaker 6: nineteen ninety one in Colorado and watched the crime drop
Speaker 6: in half across the country, decreased dramatically in Colorado, and
Speaker 6: you know that last few years I was in office,
Speaker 6: we just had a lot of the tool stripped away
Speaker 6: from law enforcement, and that has certainly been frustrating. I know,
Speaker 6: there's thankfully been some advancements. We've regained some ground in
Speaker 6: the last couple of years. I've seen you know, you
Speaker 6: and other sheriffs and police departments really working at it.
Speaker 4: But well, I just.
Speaker 6: It's frustrating to watch peace officers out there having to
Speaker 6: fight with one hand tied behind their back.
Speaker 4: Just working to protect the public.
Speaker 6: So there's definitely been some concerning things at the state
Speaker 6: level in recent years, you know, but again it hasn't
Speaker 6: it hasn't brought down the willingness of those of you
Speaker 6: still in service.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I think with the passage of Centate Bill two seventeen,
Speaker 2: the Law Enforcement you know, the Law Enforcement Accountability Act,
Speaker 2: where they removed qualified immunity for law enforcement officers in Colorado.
Speaker 2: That's a one off bill. You don't see it anywhere
Speaker 2: else in the country, although there's several that have tried
Speaker 2: to replicate it, even at the federal level. You know,
Speaker 2: that's set Colorado on a path that is unlike any
Speaker 2: other state. Having said that you're going to be come
Speaker 2: the executive director, you're on the pathway to be the
Speaker 2: executive director for the National Sheriff's Association, which does some
Speaker 2: stuff obviously nationwide and advocacy for the sheriffs. How did
Speaker 2: you decide to put in for that position? And better yet,
Speaker 2: how'd you land that thing?
Speaker 4: I bought my wife's.
Speaker 6: Asking me that, you know, for me what I was
Speaker 6: elected sheriff by the citizens.
Speaker 4: Of my county.
Speaker 6: I stepped in, you know, as you had with the
Speaker 6: County Sheriffs of Colorado, our state association, we got active,
Speaker 6: took apart in recognizing that, and then in the years
Speaker 6: after I just I got involved with the National Sheriff's Association,
Speaker 6: which really kind of collaborates what all the states are
Speaker 6: doing at that state level.
Speaker 4: It becomes that that.
Speaker 6: National voice and deals with federal issues. But I got
Speaker 6: involved there, was was selected by my fellow sheriffs to
Speaker 6: serve on their board of directors and eventually on the
Speaker 6: executive board. By the time that I was term limited
Speaker 6: out back in twenty twenty two, I stepped away a bit,
Speaker 6: but I did really active from the side. I hung
Speaker 6: out a shamble as it were, and got involved in
Speaker 6: consulting in public safety, stayed involved with National Sheriffs on
Speaker 6: a variety of issues, and was aware that the longtime
Speaker 6: executive director was retiring, you know, sometime in the future.
Speaker 6: That came around this year, and you know, for me,
Speaker 6: obviously it just simply comes down to this. There obviously
Speaker 6: has never been a better job than serving the citizens
Speaker 6: in a county as their elected sheriff and having the
Speaker 6: ability to do what.
Speaker 4: You need to do. Once that ends, you know, the.
Speaker 6: Next step for me was what else would be next
Speaker 6: most satisfying, and that was to serve America's three thousand
Speaker 6: and eighty one elected sheriffs because around the country they're all.
Speaker 4: Facing different challenges.
Speaker 6: So the opportunity to serve those sheriffs on that national level,
Speaker 6: to help collaborate on role issues and the things that
Speaker 6: are going on, just seem like a natural fit. And
Speaker 6: you know, lo and behold, things worked out the way
Speaker 6: they did. And I was just recently selected and I'll
Speaker 6: take that position officially at.
Speaker 4: The beginning of the year.
Speaker 6: I'll be transitioning later in the fall at National Sheriff
Speaker 6: which you know, the flip side means a time within
Speaker 6: the Beltway, which is a change certainly for us. But
Speaker 6: sometimes you sometimes you do what you have to do
Speaker 6: because that's where you need to be to stand with
Speaker 6: and stand for America's sheriffs.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you know, for the listeners, you know, they're
Speaker 2: not going to interact with the National Sheriff's Associate Association
Speaker 2: every day, but they do most most listeners are pretty
Speaker 2: familiar with who their local sheriff is. So how does
Speaker 2: the National Sheriff's Association kind of support those local sheriffs?
Speaker 2: You know, on a more direct basis, like, what is
Speaker 2: your role there end upholding those those three thousand plus
Speaker 2: sheriffs across the nation.
Speaker 4: Well, there's there's a variety of ways we do that.
Speaker 6: A primary one is being that connection one with federal agencies.
Speaker 4: You know, as county sheriffs.
Speaker 6: So we were from our counties, but we were chartered
Speaker 6: essentially under our state constitution and state statutes be carried
Speaker 6: those out. However, in doing that, we all know that
Speaker 6: the ability to work with our federal partners in a
Speaker 6: positive way is critical.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 6: The reality is, no matter how powerful the county sheriffs
Speaker 6: of Colorado are collectively, they.
Speaker 4: Don't have a voice to be able to really get
Speaker 4: the ear of the FDI, the DEA on.
Speaker 6: Land security, et cetera. But where national sheriffs comes in again,
Speaker 6: they're in Washington.
Speaker 2: D c.
Speaker 6: Which is where you have to be daily interactions at
Speaker 6: that level with those federal agencies.
Speaker 4: And then really it's.
Speaker 6: Their role to bring those issues and concerns of the
Speaker 6: states sheriffs around the country. Do those federal officials voice
Speaker 6: those speak collectively? That's one part and the other is
Speaker 6: while sheriffs don't enforce federal law, we are impacted certainly,
Speaker 6: as you know, Steve, by federal law and some of
Speaker 6: the challenges to come through. So National Sheriffs is a
Speaker 6: voice in that way with Congress to lobby Congress, and
Speaker 6: certainly I would say Congress comes to the sheriffs, and
Speaker 6: we're getting back in that role a little bit more
Speaker 6: finding out what things can they do to be helpful
Speaker 6: to local communities when it comes to safety. And then
Speaker 6: there's the issues of training that goes along. Certainly there's
Speaker 6: a lot of training that goes to the state level,
Speaker 6: but collectively we can come together. It brings sheriffs together
Speaker 6: on those variety of issues just to promote public safety
Speaker 6: and best practices. We're able to go to the different states,
Speaker 6: find out who's got some things that are working that
Speaker 6: are helpful and share the share the things that Colorado
Speaker 6: is successful at and bring things to Colorado that some
Speaker 6: of our other states. Florida has a very very powerful
Speaker 6: and active State Sheriff's Association and we certainly pick up
Speaker 6: a lot from them.
Speaker 4: So National Sheriffs really just kind.
Speaker 6: Of becomes the hub of that to help each of
Speaker 6: the states sheriffs.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you know, when you're talking about trying to
Speaker 2: figure out how to work with your federal partners. I mean,
Speaker 2: there's the best example I can think of right here
Speaker 2: in the state of Colorado is I think most of
Speaker 2: your sheriffs, if not the majority of sheriffs in the state,
Speaker 2: want to have a relationship with ICE. But we've had
Speaker 2: a bunch of state legislators who have said, we really
Speaker 2: don't think that's a great idea. You know, they're not
Speaker 2: out interacting with criminals, they're not out interacting with the
Speaker 2: bad guy on the street. As the NSA executive director,
Speaker 2: do you see yourself kind of advocating for that relationship
Speaker 2: to be rebuilt, not just for the sheriffs here in
Speaker 2: Colorado with ICE, but the sheriffs across the nation, because
Speaker 2: I think that's the way that this issue get gets corrected.
Speaker 4: I thought you're absolutely right, Steve.
Speaker 6: I think that the challenge there is our federal partners
Speaker 6: don't necessarily always understand the conditions on the ground, and
Speaker 6: you certainly speak to that of Colorado.
Speaker 4: Sheriffs are put between.
Speaker 6: The proverbial rock and a hard place in that we
Speaker 6: have to comply with state law. But at the same time,
Speaker 6: when when legislators and other folks in the state passed
Speaker 6: and put things into effect that essentially can maybe not
Speaker 6: just put the sheriff in. I mean, granted we're not
Speaker 6: enforcing federal law. However to in some form obstruct federal officials,
Speaker 6: and you know what, I know that's not a role
Speaker 6: that the law law enforcements can get any more than
Speaker 6: we would tolerate federal officials obstructing Colorado law.
Speaker 4: So I think that's a piece.
Speaker 6: And certainly there was that question that came out recently
Speaker 6: of you know what they called on the side the
Speaker 6: nasty list from from ICE in DHS on you know,
Speaker 6: sheriffs that were you know, under sanctuary counties or CenTra.
Speaker 4: Non complied and.
Speaker 6: And NSA worked with the states and we pushed back
Speaker 6: and said what came out from DHS was not after it,
Speaker 6: it was not appropriate, it didn't help, and we got
Speaker 6: that list pulled down and we simply went back with
Speaker 6: let's have a conversation.
Speaker 4: We're not against the issue.
Speaker 6: Of calling out those who are not cooperating, but you happy,
Speaker 6: but you know, in our business, facts are facts, and
Speaker 6: you have to have your facts lined up. And National
Speaker 6: Sheriff did speak up for the States on that issue.
Speaker 2: Well, justin I can't be more proud to have someone
Speaker 2: from Colorado representing the National Sheriff's Association. I can't be
Speaker 2: more proud to have my former colleague from a neighboring county,
Speaker 2: Larimer County, in that same seat. And Justin, I'm proud
Speaker 2: to see you out there. I'll the luck to you
Speaker 2: to do the best work out there. And remember, don't
Speaker 2: forget us little guys here in the state of Colorado.
Speaker 6: I keep up the fight here, Steve, proud to work
Speaker 6: for you in this new role.
Speaker 2: You bet, thanks for coming on with This's Justin. So
Speaker 2: that was Justin Smith, former Larmer County sheriff, now the
Speaker 2: executive director incoming executive director for National Sheriff's Association. And
Speaker 2: while that may not seem like much to the day
Speaker 2: to day listener, that's a big win for the state
Speaker 2: of Colorado, and I half believe that's some of the
Speaker 2: reason that he got that position. In essay, is focusing
Speaker 2: on those states where they need to make the biggest
Speaker 2: push and try to get sheriffs back in control of
Speaker 2: kind of law and order in an individual state. So
Speaker 2: with that, we'll go to break. When we come back,
Speaker 2: we'll do a little bit of clean up before we
Speaker 2: go to a second hour. But keep tuning in, keep listening,
Speaker 2: and throw those texts in if you'd like. Text Dan
Speaker 2: at five seven, seven, three nine. We're talking about death penalty,
Speaker 2: We're talking about sheriff's roles. Text in with whatever you'd like.
Speaker 2: We'll go to break. You're listening to Steve Raims here
Speaker 2: on the Dankaples Show as your guest host.
Speaker 5: And now back to the Dan Tapless Show podcast Driver's
Speaker 5: seat today.
Speaker 2: Like I said earlier in the show, it's always a
Speaker 2: good time to drive the get behind the wheel of
Speaker 2: the big the big machine here that Dan normally pilots
Speaker 2: on a daily basis, But I've kind of challenged you
Speaker 2: guys a little bit to text in tell me what
Speaker 2: you think about Colorado's removal of the death penalty option
Speaker 2: based on the case we've been watching out of Idaho
Speaker 2: with Brian Coberger as the suspect. In addition, call in
Speaker 2: three o three seven one, three eight two five five.
Speaker 2: I love having those conversations with you. I know a
Speaker 2: few of you are a little bit shy and you
Speaker 2: don't necessarily want to get on the radio, but that's okay.
Speaker 2: We'll go to a couple of texts here. I got
Speaker 2: one to say, Sheriff, when are you going to hear
Speaker 2: our When are we going to hear a statement from
Speaker 2: you similar to one that we hear from Grady Polk
Speaker 2: down in Florida. Uh, the one that tells people to
Speaker 2: go ahead and shoot the bad guy if they break
Speaker 2: into your house, because law enforcements going to stand behind
Speaker 2: them and not be at odds with the citizens. We
Speaker 2: sure love to hear something from our chief law enforcement officers.
Speaker 2: So you stand saying that you stand with armed citizens. Look,
Speaker 2: I'm not a guy that likes to get on social
Speaker 2: media and make platitudes, but I've made it very clear
Speaker 2: to the citizens of Welld County and to my constituents
Speaker 2: that I believe they have to have a personal investment
Speaker 2: in their own public safety or their own personal safety.
Speaker 2: And I encourage people to be armed. I encourage people
Speaker 2: to protect themselves, and I encourage people to know the
Speaker 2: law around doing so. Making a video about it.
Speaker 7: You're not giving yourself due diligence.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, Why is that.
Speaker 7: Because you texted Ryan the other day because he texted
Speaker 7: you about what you would do.
Speaker 2: Oh if someone tried to take over the zoo. They're
Speaker 2: not taking over the zoo.
Speaker 7: It ain't happening, not in Weld County.
Speaker 2: No. You know, we stand pretty firm against crime in
Speaker 2: Weld County. And that takes me to another text here
Speaker 2: somebody being a little snarky, I think it says, with
Speaker 2: Colorado being the number two most violent state in the nation,
Speaker 2: how is it the sheriff can host this show. Well,
Speaker 2: it's because we uphold the rule of law in Weld County,
Speaker 2: and believe it or not, I don't work twenty four
Speaker 2: hours a day at the Sheriff's office, so I can
Speaker 2: go in early. I can leave a little early, come
Speaker 2: down to the show, I can catch things later on
Speaker 2: once I get home. I can come in on the weekends.
Speaker 2: And I have this cool thing called a cell phone,
Speaker 2: although I hate it, but I can be in contact
Speaker 2: with my folks pretty much twenty four hours a day,
Speaker 2: and oftentimes I am. So that's what happens when you
Speaker 2: have good staff, and you have good people that work
Speaker 2: for you, and they're all rowing in the same direction.
Speaker 2: I don't have to micromanage them. I believe that they
Speaker 2: can be adults and police the county while I'm not there.
Speaker 7: So one of the funniest things you missed on. I
Speaker 7: believe it was Friday. I could be wrong, could have
Speaker 7: been Thursday, might have been Friday. Still have Metallica brain.
Speaker 7: But Dan ended the show by saying, why don't we
Speaker 7: just let all of the animals out of the cages
Speaker 7: to zoo.
Speaker 2: I'm telling you that would.
Speaker 7: Fight the teens who are trying to take it over.
Speaker 7: And I said, hey, that would be our own alligator Alcatraz.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: The funny thing is all they had to hear was
Speaker 2: a little bit of threat that someone was ready for them,
Speaker 2: and they didn't even show up. I mean, it's it's
Speaker 2: kind of like, man, it's the thing that you do
Speaker 2: when you're raising kids, and don't make me get involved, right,
Speaker 2: And for the zoo to shut down, and for Denver
Speaker 2: ped to not take a little different stance or I
Speaker 2: shouldn't even say Denver PEDI who knows the Denver administration.
Speaker 2: It's just frustrating because it Embolden's lawlessness. And I'm glad
Speaker 2: it didn't happen. I hope it doesn't happen somewhere else.
Speaker 2: But this is what happens when you handcuff law enforcement.
Speaker 2: Going back to what Justin Smith said, when you.
Speaker 7: Play they only they actually attacked one of my favorite places,
Speaker 7: the shops at Northfield, because one of my favorite restaurants
Speaker 7: there is Texas Day Brazil.
Speaker 2: And so you I assume it's back open, but you
Speaker 2: couldn't eat there that night.
Speaker 7: I mean it's a tourist scaria. Have you never been
Speaker 7: to a curiscaria?
Speaker 3: No?
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, I don't even know what that is.
Speaker 7: Oh my gosh. It's a Brazilian steakhouse where you have
Speaker 7: a token kind of thing and you flip it over
Speaker 7: red or green. Green means you get a lot of meat. Okay,
Speaker 7: red means you got to stop. Well, I guess, so good.
Speaker 2: Is it back open? Did they destroy the place?
Speaker 7: No, they didn't. They just fought and it was like
Speaker 7: in like an open area or something.
Speaker 2: The disrupted the operation.
Speaker 7: Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2: So here's the thing. You live in a crappy area.
Speaker 2: Don't live down here in the metro area. Move to
Speaker 2: Weld County. We don't have those restaurants you're talking about, though.
Speaker 2: We have things like Texas Roadhouse and other things up
Speaker 2: I don't know. We have just traditional steak in Weld County.
Speaker 2: You know, steak and taters like like you do in
Speaker 2: the South. So going back to the text line, here
Speaker 2: quite a few of you, Dan, I'm in favor of
Speaker 2: the death penalty. Dan, I'm in favor of the death penalty.
Speaker 2: One person here says, I couldn't take someone's life, but
Speaker 2: I understand the need for it. We're gonna take this
Speaker 2: last break of the hour. When we come back, we're
Speaker 2: going to have another governor candidate names Jason Clark. You're
Speaker 2: definitely going to want to tune in. This guy is
Speaker 2: not a traditional candidate, and I think you may really
Speaker 2: enjoy the interview. You're listening to the Dan Cafleis Show
Speaker 2: out here on six point thirty KHA with Will Kenny,
Speaker 2: Sheriff Steve Rings