County cops
Click It or Ticket Campaign cites 2,356 drivers
The Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado State Patrol and law enforcement agencies in 12 counties in Colorado issued 2,356 seat belt citations to drivers during the Click It or Ticket nighttime campaign, which ran July 22-28.
Efforts were ramped up to enforce seat belt use at night because nighttime passenger vehicle occupants are most likely to be unrestrained and killed in crashes. During the weeklong enforcement period, seven drivers and passengers died in crashes in the state, and four of them were not wearing seat belts.
Illegal aliens, part II
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On July 22, deputies stopped a van with 11 illegal immigrants on Interstate 70 near Dotsero. The driver was cited for driving without a license, reckless driving and operating an uninsured vehicle. U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement was contacted but the agency could not respond unless the case involved a previously deported felon.
On July 25, a deputy stopped a van with nine people after the 28-year-old driver made an unsafe lane change on I-70 near Gypsum.
The officer noted the van’s capacity was only seven. All the occupants admitted they were in the country illegally, heading to Chicago for work. The 28-year-old was cited for driving without a license and reckless driving.
The deputy contacted ICE and was told the case did not qualify a response from the agency. The deputy asked what criteria warrants a response and ICE told the officer to keep calling because the criteria is constantly changing.
The 28-year-old agreed to park the van at a gas station and call someone with a license to come get them.
Underage possession
Deputies stopped a car for expired license plates on I-70 near Eagle July 29.
The 18-year-old couple in the car said they were going back to Denver after a road trip to the Grand Canyon. The driver said she planned to take care of the expired plates first thing when she got home.
An officer cited her for the expired tags and asked if he could search the car because he smelled marijuana. The woman consented to a search and two small bags with marijuana and paraphernalia were found. The woman said one of the bags belonged to her mom and she thought the bags were empty.
The woman was cited for possession of marijuana. Colorado’s Amendment 64 only legalizes recreational marijuana use for people over 21 years old.
