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Category: Colorado
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Published on Sunday, 01 April 2007 16:29
Heads up, Teller county may soon receive funding for two additional troopers to be working out of the Woodland Park office. They'd be focusing on enforcement around the Cripple Creek area. Read the rest of the post for the article, or view it at its source
here. More Troopers Possible For Teller County
Provides extra patrols around Cripple Creek
By Scott Harrison
A shortage of troopers has been an ongoing concern for the Colorado State Patrol. However, that could change for areas surrounding gaming towns like Cripple Creek.
Currently under consideration by the state legislature, is a plan to provide funds for hiring two additional troopers. The troopers would work out of the Woodland Park office and patrol Teller County near the Cripple Creek casinos. The office presently has five full-time troopers on patrol, and a corporal and sergeant as supervisors--but it's not enough for such a large area. The Woodland Park office also covers Manitou Springs and western El Paso County.
"Basically from Manitou Springs west, we're responsible," says Sgt. Kevin Crider of the Woodland Park office. "One or two (troopers) per shift is typically what we can get together. We just don't have the manpower for it." However, Crider says the new funding could increase staffing to three troopers per shift.
Having more troopers on the roads might have saved the life of 55-year-old Linda Jones in February of 2005. An accident sent her vehicle into an embankment off Highway 67 in Teller County, and her body and vehicle were not found for almost a week. Sgt. Crider says additional troopers are a necessity in a county with winding mountain roads, occasional bad weather and gamblers who drive while intoxicated.
Joe Fassler of Colorado Springs commutes to work in Cripple Creek three times each week, and wants more patrols. "The traffic up here gets really bad, and people tend to not be responsible--especially with the drinking."
Teller County Sheriff Kevin Dougherty says he's thrilled about the possibility of new troopers, but that he's also optimistically cautious. Dougherty says additional troopers have been promised before, but those who have come end up in Colorado Springs where traffic is heavier. The sheriff says he receives about ten complaints a week about speeders on Highway 67, and he'd rather have his deputies patrolling county roads.
