HomeMy WebLinkAbout10835ORDINANCE NO. 10835
AN ORDINANCE ADDING SECTION 304 OF CHAPTER 1
OF TITLE XI OF THE PUEBLO MUNICIPAL CODE ADDING
THE OFFENSE OF INTERFERENCE WITH A CITY
EMPLOYEE
WHEREAS,
all powers and authority vested under Colorado law; and
WHEREAS, Individuals who are engaged in City business are facing threats and
harassment with the intent to change or prevent them from preforming the duties to
which they are assigned; and
WHEREAS, there are times these acts are not already covered by other criminal
codes; and
WHEREAS, City has an interest in protecting those engaged in City business;
and
WHEREAS, impeding those engaged in City Business thwarts the obligations of
City to enforce rules, laws, and ordinances; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PUEBLO, that: (brackets indicate
matter being deleted, underscoring indicates new matter being added)
SECTION 1.
Section 11-1-304 of the Pueblo Municipal Code is hereby enacted to read as
follows:
Sec. 11-1-304
(a) For the purposes of this section, City , all persons
qualified as employees under Section 1-5 of the Charter of the City of Pueblo, and
those persons qualified as officers under Article 2 of the Charter of the City of
Pueblo, and all those persons qualified under Section 8-5 of the Charter of the
City of Pueblo as Unclassified and Classified Service. The term City Agent also
includes part-time employees and employees of designated contractors while
engaged in City business and the execution of their duties assigned under their
contract, and tow truck operators contacted by City for nonconsensual tows or
tows done for the purposes and/or request of law enforcement. The term City
Agent includes, but is not limited to, Park Rangers, Code Enforcement Officers,
Parking Enforcement Officers, and Animal Services Officers and employees.
(b) A person commits intimidating a City Agent if, by use of a threat, act
of harassment, or act of harm or injury, he or she intentionally attempts to or does
prevent the City Agent from performing the duties and responsibilities of his or
her position.
(c) A person commits attempting to influence a City Agent, if, by means
of deceit, threat of violence or economic reprisal against a person or property,
with the intent thereby to alter or affect the City Agent decision, vote, opinion,
or action concerning a matter which was to be considered or performed by the
City Agent or their department or body of which the City.
(d) Violation of this section is a Class 1 Municipal Offense.
SECTION 2.
The officers and staff of the City are authorized and directed to perform any and
all acts consistent with the intent of this Ordinance to effectuate the policies and
procedures described herein.
SECTION 3.
This Ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days after final action by the
Mayor and City Council.
Action by City Council:
Introduced and initial adoption of Ordinance by City Council on October 28, 2024.
Final adoption of Ordinance by City Council on November 11, 2024.
President of City Council
Action by the Mayor:
Approved on .
Disapproved on based on the following objections:
_
Mayor
Action by City Council After Disapproval by the Mayor:
Council did not act to override the Mayor's veto.
Ordinance re-adopted on a vote of , on
Council action on _______
President of City Council
ATTEST
City Clerk
City Clerk's Office Item # R1
Background Paper for Proposed
Ordinance
COUNCIL MEETING DATE: November 11, 2024
TO: President Mark Aliff and Members of City Council
CC: Mayor Heather Graham
VIA: Marisa Stoller, City Clerk
FROM: Carla Sikes, City Attorney
SUBJECT: AN ORDINANCE ADDING SECTION 304 OF CHAPTER 1 OF TITLE XI
OF THE PUEBLO MUNICIPAL CODE ADDING THE OFFENSE OF
INTERFERENCE WITH A CITY EMPLOYEE
SUMMARY:
Attached for consideration is a proposed addition to the Pueblo Municipal Code adding
an offense to interfere, including threatening, harassing, etc., an employee of the City.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION:
No prior action.
BACKGROUND:
While performing their duties, employees of City often face: harassment, including at their
offices and counters; threats toward their safety; and dangerous situations sometimes in
remote locations.
By July of 2024, Park Rangers had been threatened with deadly weapons three times
and faced constant threats to their physical safety, one of those incidents involved an
individual with two knives. Often, Park Rangers are in areas where police support is
delayed such as out on a trail animal Control officers face threats virtually, if not actually,
daily. They receive death threats, and individuals with deadly weapons such as knives.
Examples include an individual who went inside his house and came out with gun
holstered on his hip (those actions do not quite rise to menacing but are intended to
intimidate) while yelling at officers. Another example is animal control officers having lawn
furniture thrown at them. Code enforcement officers have had incidents where they were
shot at and on at least one occasion an attempt to run them over with a vehicle. They
have a policy to leave when things are heated and apply for a search warrant and return
with assistance. However, they are still facing constant threats and harassment and have
had individuals release dogs out at them.
Parking Enforcement has daily harassment. After consulting with the supervisor of
Parking Enforcement it was suggested that the tow companies engaged by City are
harassed regularly.
Community Service Program at the Municipal Court often faces harassment and threats
while out in the community in the performance of their duties. Similar to those listed
above, they are placed in these situations due to the nature of the work they perform for
the City.
All these agents are trained and specifically have policies to leave situations that are
dangerous or escalating. However, many times they are unable to quickly or safely
extricate themselves. City employees who work at windows such as in Municipal Court
and Sales Tax receive threats and harassment regularly. These are situations where
employees cannot extricate themselves quickly. Additionally, they are often threatened
in ways that are not covered by other already existing regulations such as menacing, or
they do not qualify as law enforcement for state statutes such as second-degree assault
on a peace officer.
State statute does include prohibitions for attempting to influence a public official, typically
through deceit to influence a decision. Given the nature of the offense in this section for
an individual to harass or threaten in attempt to thwart a City agent from completing their
duties, and that it is in the interest of the City to discourage individuals from using deceit
to influence City Agents, it is logical to include that in this section.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION:
None.
STAKEHOLDER PROCESS:
None.
ALTERNATIVES:
Not approving these changes will mean these violations will remain class 2 municipal
offenses.
RECOMMENDATION:
Accept the changes.
ATTACHMENTS:
1.
Ordinance for harassment of public official