ROBERT BRAUDIS, SHERIFF OF PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO
AUGUST 2, 2006
It is the policy of the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office-whether acting independently under its statutory law enforcement powers, or in collaboration with state and federal law enforcement agencies — to protect the constitutional rights of persons under its jurisdictions in accordance with the following policies of the state of Colorado and the Sheriff’s Office of Pitkin County, Colorado
- Compliance with Senate Joint Resolution SJR 05-044 adopted May 5, 2005. This joint resolution reflects clear state policy that is applicable ti all instrumentalities of state government including the Sheriff’s Office. SJR 05-044 stated as follows:
“(1) That the General Assembly supports the government of the United States in its campaign against terrorism and affirms its commitment that the campaign not be waged at the expense of the essential civil rights and liberties enshrined in the Constitutions of the United States and the state of Colorado;
“(2) That it is the policy of the state of Colorado to oppose any provision or application of the “USA PATRIOT Act” that would violate the rights and liberties guaranteed by the state and federal Constitutions;
“(3) That, in accordance with the policy of this state, no agency or instrumentality of the state should, without reasonable suspicion of criminal activity under Colorado law:
(a) Initiate, participate in, assist, or cooperate with any inquiry, investigation, surveillance, or detention;
(b) Record, file, or share intelligence information concerning any person or organization, including library lending and research records, book and video store sales and rental records, medical records, financial records, student records, internet mail and usage records, and other personal data, even if authorized under the “USA PATRIOT Act”; or
( c) Retain such intelligence information.
“( 4) That no agency or instrumentality of the state should … Collect or maintain information about the political, religious, or social views, associations, or activities of any individual, group, organization, or business entity, unless the information directly relates to an investigation of criminal activities and there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the subject of the information is involved in criminal conduct;”
Additional Sheriffs Office Policies to Protect Local Residents’ Bill of Rights Guarantees: In addition to complying with the foregoing legislative guidance, the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, I will provide its citizens and others under its jurisdiction with additional assurances-whenever asked to collaborate with federal or state police or investigative activities:
(a) Will seek adequate written assurances from federal authorities that residents of Pitkin County and other individuals in its custody of the Ci1 who are placed in federal custody will not be subjected to military detention; secret detention; secret immigration proceedings; or detention without access to counsel, and refrain from assisting federal authorities obtain custody of such individuals absent such assurances;
(b) Will refrain from engaging in the surveillance of individuals or groups of individuals based on their participation in activities protected by the First Amendment, such as political advocacy or the practice of a religion, without particularized suspicion of criminal activity unrelated to the activity protected by the First Amendment;
(c) Will refrain from racial profiling. The Sheriff’s Office does not utilize race, religion, ethnicity, or national origin as a factor in selecting which individuals to subject to investigatory activities except when seeking to apprehend a specific suspect whose race, religion, ethnicity or national origin is part of the description of the suspect;
(d) Will refrain, whether acting alone or with federal or state law enforcement officers, from collecting or maintaining information about the political, religious or social views, associations or activities of any individual, group, association, organization, corporation, business or partnership unless such information directly relates to an investigation of criminal activities, and there are reasonable grounds to suspect the subject of the information is or may be involved in criminal conduct;
(e) Will refrain from: engaging in video surveillance unless the police have reasonable suspicion that the subjects of the video surveillance have or are about to commit a crime, establishing a general surveillance network of video cameras, deploying facial recognition technology or other unreliable biometric identification technology within Pitkin County;
(f) Will provide advance or simultaneous notice of the execution of a search warrant to any resident of Pitkin County whose property is the subject of such a warrant, and refrain from participating in a joint search with any law enforcement agency absent assurances that such notice will be provided to such individuals during the search;
(g) Will refrain from undertaking or participating in any initiative, such as the Terrorism Information and Prevention System (TIPS), that encourages the general public to spy on their neighbors, colleagues or customers;
(h) Will refrain from the practice of stopping drivers or pedestrians for the purpose of scrutinizing their identification documents without particularized suspicion of criminal activity;
(i) Will report to the Board of County Commissioners of Pitkin County any request by federal authorities that, if granted, would cause agencies of the City or County to exercise powers or cooperate m the exercise of powers m apparent violation of the laws or Constitution of this State or the United States.
Signed August 2, 2006
Bob Braudis
Sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado
