Boulder Municipal Code Title V Chapter 5

Chapter 5-5: Offenses Against Government Operations12

5-5-1 Obstructing Government Operations.Go to the top

(a) No person shall knowingly obstruct, impair, or hinder the performance of a governmental function by a public servant by using or threatening to use violence, force, or physical interference or obstacle.

(b) It is an affirmative defense to violation of this section that:

(1) The obstruction, impairment, or hindrance was of unlawful action by a public servant;

(2) The obstruction, impairment, or hindrance was of the making of an arrest; or

(3) The obstruction, impairment, or hindrance was by lawful activities in connection with a labor dispute with the government.

5-5-2 Resisting Arrest.Go to the top

(a) No person shall knowingly prevent or attempt to prevent a police officer acting under color of official authority from effecting an arrest of the actor or another by:

(1) Using or threatening to use physical force or violence against the police officer or another;

(2) Using any other means that creates a substantial risk of causing bodily injury to the police officer or another; or

(3) Fleeing from the police officer after being ordered to stop in a manner that would indicate to a reasonable person that the police officer was ordering such person to stop.

(b) It is no defense to a prosecution under this section that the police officer was attempting to make an arrest that in fact was unlawful if the police officer was acting under color of official authority and in attempting to make the arrest such officer was not resorting to unreasonable or excessive force giving rise to the right of self-defense. A police officer acts “under color of official authority” when, in the regular course of assigned duties, such officer is called upon to make, and does make, a judgment in good faith based upon surrounding facts and circumstances that an arrest should be made.

(c) The term “police officer” as used in this section means a police officer in uniform or a police officer out of uniform who has identified himself or herself by exhibiting police officer credentials to the person whom such officer is attempting to arrest.

5-5-3 Obstructing a Peace Officer or Firefighter.13Go to the top

(a) No person shall, by using or threatening to use violence, force, or physical interference or obstacle knowingly obstruct, impair, or hinder the enforcement of the law or the preservation of the peace by a peace officer, acting under color of official authority or knowingly obstruct, impair, or hinder the prevention, control, or abatement of fire or other emergency action by a firefighter, acting under color of official authority.

(b) No person, upon being ordered by a police officer to move to a distance of eight feet from the police officer, or to a specific place which is no more than eight feet from the officer, while the officer is investigating what the officer reasonably suspects is a crime or violation of this code, is interviewing a suspect or potential witness, or is making an arrest, shall fail to comply with such order.

(c) It is no defense to a prosecution under this section that the police officer was attempting to make an arrest that in fact was unlawful if the police officer was acting under color of official authority and in attempting to make the arrest such officer was not resorting to unreasonable or excessive force giving rise to the right of self-defense. A police officer acts “under color of official authority” when, in the regular course of assigned duties, such officer is called upon to make, and does make, a judgment in good faith based upon surrounding facts and circumstances that an arrest should be made.

(d) The term “police officer” as used in this section means a police officer in uniform or a police officer out of uniform who has identified himself or herself by exhibiting police officer credentials to the person whom such officer is attempting to arrest.

(Ordinance Nos. 4879 (1984); 7129 (2001))

5-5-4 Refusal to Permit Inspections.Go to the top

(a) No person, knowing that a public servant is legally authorized to inspect property, shall:

(1) Refuse to produce or make available the property for inspection at a reasonable hour; or

(2) Refuse to permit the inspection at a reasonable hour if the property is available for inspection.

(b) For purposes of this section, “property” means any real or personal property, including, without limitation, books, records, and documents, that are owned, possessed, or otherwise subject to the control of the defendant. A “legally authorized inspection” means any lawful search, sampling, testing, or other examination of property, in connection with the regulation of a specific business or occupation, that is authorized by an ordinance, statute, or lawful regulatory provision regulating such business or occupation or by a search warrant.

(c) The maximum penalty for a first or second conviction within two years, based on date of violation of this section, is a fine of $500.00. For a third and each subsequent conviction within two years, based upon the date of the first violation, the general penalty provisions of section 5-2-4, “General Penalties,” B.R.C. 1981, shall apply.

Ordinance No. 7831 (2012)

5-5-5 Refusing to Aid a Police Officer.Go to the top

No person who is eighteen years of age or older, upon command by an individual known to such person to be a police officer, shall unreasonably refuse or fail to aid the police officer in effecting or securing an arrest or preventing the commission by another of any violation.

5-5-6 Compounding.Go to the top

(a) No person shall accept or agree to accept any pecuniary benefit as consideration for:

(1) Refraining from seeking prosecution of a violator; or

(2) Refraining from reporting to law enforcement authorities the commission or suspected commission of any violation or information relating to a violation.

(b) It is a specific defense to prosecution under this section that the benefit received by the accused did not exceed an amount that the accused reasonably believed to be due as restitution or indemnification to such accused for the damage caused by the violation.

5-5-7 Impersonating a Peace Officer.Go to the top

No person shall falsely pretend to be a peace officer. “Pretending” to be a peace officer means:

(a) To wear or display the uniform, apparel, badge, or any other insignia of office like, similar to, or a colorable imitation of that used by city police officers; or

(b) To represent in any manner whatsoever to another that the person is a city peace officer.

5-5-8 Impersonating a Public Servant.Go to the top

(a) No person shall falsely represent in any manner whatsoever to another that the actor is a public servant of the City and perform any act in that pretended capacity.

(b) It is no defense to a prosecution under this section that the office the actor pretended to hold did not in fact exist.

5-5-9 Abuse of Public Record.Go to the top

(a) No person shall:

(1) Knowingly make a false entry in or falsely alter any public record;

(2) Knowing that such person lacks the authority to do so, knowingly destroy, mutilate, conceal, remove, or impair the availability of any public record; or

(3) Knowing that such person lacks the authority to retain the record, refuse to deliver up a public record in such person's possession upon proper request of any individual lawfully entitled to receive such record.

(b) As used in this section, the term “public record” includes, without limitation, all official books, papers, or records created, received, or used by or in any city office or agency.

5-5-10 False Reports.Go to the top

(a) No person shall:

(1) Make a report or knowingly cause the transmission of a report to any peace officer or other city official of a crime or other incident when such person knows that it did not occur; or

(2) Make a report or knowingly cause the transmission of a report to any peace officer or other city official pretending to furnish information relating to a violation or other incident when such person knows that he or she has no such information or knows that such information is false, including, without limitation, a false alarm of a fire.

(b) This section does not apply to false reports concerning explosives in violation of 18-8-110, C.R.S.

5-5-11 Accessory to a Violation.Go to the top

(a) No person shall, with intent to hinder, delay, or prevent the discovery, detection, apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of another for the commission of a violation, render assistance to such person.

(b) Render assistance means to:

(1) Harbor or conceal the other;

(2) Warn such person of impending discovery or apprehension, but this does not apply to a warning given in an effort to bring such person into compliance with the law;

(3) Provide such person with money, transportation, weapon, disguise, or other thing to be used in avoiding discovery or apprehension;

(4) Obstruct, by force, intimidation, or deception, anyone in the performance of any act if there is a reasonable probability that such act will aid in the discovery, detection, apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of such person; or

(5) Conceal, destroy, or alter any physical evidence if there is a reasonable probability that such evidence will aid in the discovery, detection, apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of such person.14

(Ordinance No. 5187 (1989))

5-5-12 Duty to Report Fires.Go to the top

(a) No person, knowing or reasonably believing that a fire exists, shall fail to turn in an alarm of such fire without delay.

(b) It is a specific defense to a charge of violating this section that the person was acting pursuant to a written waiver from the city manager. The manager may waive the requirements of subsection (a) of this section if the manager finds that the person provides a satisfactory alternative fire control program that provides no less protection than the city fire control program.

5-5-13 Refusing to Aid Firefighter.Go to the top

No person who is eighteen years of age or older, upon command by an individual known by such person to be a firefighter, shall unreasonably refuse or fail to aid the firefighter in suppressing or extinguishing a fire or in any other emergency.

5-5-14 Disobeying Order of Firefighter.Go to the top

No person shall disobey any lawful order of a firefighter or enter any restricted area lawfully delineated by a firefighter.

5-5-15 Breaking Into Animal Pound.Go to the top

No person shall break or open any pound, pen, corral or other enclosure in which any animal is impounded under the provisions of this code or other ordinance of the City or take any animal from such place without permission from the city manager after payment of all applicable fees.

5-5-16 Tampering With Boot.Go to the top

(a) No person other than the city manager or the manager's agent shall remove the boot described in section 2-6-8, “Booting,” B.R.C. 1981, from any vehicle on which it has been installed.

(b) No person shall move any vehicle after it has been booted but before the boot has been removed by the city manager.

(c) In any prosecution for violation of this section, upon proof that the defendant owned the vehicle at the time the boot was installed and that the boot was removed or the vehicle moved before the vehicle was removed from the scofflaw list, it shall be a rebuttable presumption that the accused removed the boot or moved the vehicle or aided, abetted, or advised the person who did so.

(Ordinance Nos. 5187 (1989); 5271 (1990))

5-5-17 Crossing Police Line.Go to the top

(a) No person shall cross or unlawfully remain within a police line established under section 2-4-9, “Police Lines,” B.R.C. 1981.

(b) It is a specific defense to a charge of violation of this section that the person was a person for whose protection the line was established, or a peace officer, firefighter, or other person whose assistance in dealing with an emergency has been requested by the public employee in command of the incident.

(Ordinance Nos. 4980 (1986); 7129 (2001))

5-5-18 Suspension of Facility Privileges.Go to the top

(a) The city manager may suspend the privilege of any person to use any recreation, library, senior center, youth services, open space, or park facility owned or managed by the City who has violated any provision of this code, ordinance of the City, or other law, or a rule issued pursuant to chapter 1-4, “Rulemaking,” B.R.C. 1981, or posted on the premises of the facility by the manager, if such person's conduct constitutes a hazard to the health, safety, or welfare of the users of the facility. Any person so suspended shall immediately leave the facility.

(b) The suspension period shall be reasonably related to the severity of the offense and its danger to public health, safety, and welfare, and shall not, except for sexual offenses, exceed one year. The manager may also consider any criminal convictions of the offender, and any prior suspensions under this code. If the suspension period does not begin and end on the day of violation, the manager shall provide the person with a written notice specifying the provision violated, the facility covered by the suspension, the period of suspension, and the opportunity for a hearing thereafter to contest the suspension or its duration, or both, under the procedures prescribed by chapter 1-3, “Quasi-Judicial Hearings,” B.R.C. 1981. If requested by the person, such hearing shall be held as soon as practical, but not later than five days, weekends and holidays excluded, of a request therefor. Unless stated otherwise in the order of suspension, suspensions are effective immediately whether or not appealed.

(c) A person suspended for only the remainder of the day of violation may appeal the suspension under the provisions of chapter 1-3, “Quasi-Judicial Hearings,” B.R.C. 1981, if the appeal is filed with the manager within ten days of the date of suspension.

(d) As an additional restriction, the manager, after notice to the offender and an opportunity for a hearing under the provisions of chapter 1-3, “Quasi-Judicial Hearings,” B.R.C. 1981, may suspend the privilege of the person to use other similar facilities if the person's conduct, if engaged in those other facilities, would constitute grounds for suspension under subsection (a) of this section. If the manager offers the offender the opportunity for a hearing on the question of suspension from similar facilities immediately, or otherwise within a time less than ten days, and the offender requests a continuance of such hearing to a later date, such hearing may be continued in the sound exercise of the manager's discretion, but in the interim such person is suspended from use of the facilities specified in the manager's notice under this subsection.

(e) The following additional provisions apply to suspensions for sexual offenses:

(1) For the purposes of this section, “sexual offenses” means any offense defined in part 4, “Unlawful Sexual Behavior,” of title 18, C.R.S., or any other crime defined in the statutes of the state which include sexual assault or attempted sexual assault as an element, and also includes any of the crimes defined as an “unlawful sexual offense” in sections 18-3-411 and 412, C.R.S., as those statutes now read and as they may be amended in the future.

(2) A suspension for more than a year may be imposed only after notice and an opportunity for a hearing under the provisions of chapter 1-3, “Quasi-Judicial Hearings,” B.R.C. 1981, but the city manager may, after notice given within thirty days of a suspension for no more than a year, hold a hearing on the question of extending the suspension for more than a year.

(3) Any person suspended for more than five years may, after five years, petition the manager to end the suspension on the grounds that the person has been fully rehabilitated and has been definitively cured of any mental or behavioral disorder associated with the relevant prior conduct. The manager shall hold a hearing on such petition under the provisions of chapter 1-3, “Quasi-Judicial Hearings,” B.R.C. 1981. Before such hearing the manager may require the petitioner to undergo an examination by a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist of the manager's choice, and may require that the examiner present the results at the hearing, all at the petitioner's expense. The manager may require the petitioner to advance the estimated cost of examination and professional testimony. The manager may direct the police chief or any other city employee not a supervisor of the hearing officer to investigate a petitioner's claim of rehabilitation and cure and to report and present evidence and testimony at the hearing. The manager shall also give notice, to the extent practical, to any victim and complaining witness related to the original suspension, and shall permit such persons to give testimony at the hearing concerning rehabilitation and cure. The burden is on the petitioner to show rehabilitation and cure. Denial of such a petition shall preclude any further petition for an additional five years.

(f) The city manager may, pursuant to chapter 1-4, “Rulemaking,” B.R.C. 1981, make procedural rules governing the suspension process under this section, and may make substantive rules governing the conduct of patrons in the facilities subject to this section so long as such rules are reasonably related to the public purposes of the facility, the protection of the health, safety, or welfare of the public, patrons, or staff of the facility, or the public property in or used by the facility. In accordance with charter sections 132 and 134, substantive rules concerning library facilities shall not be effective without the approval of the library commission in addition to the approval of the city manager.

(g) No person shall violate any order of the city manager suspending the privilege of using a facility.

(Ordinance No. 5757 (1995))

5-5-19 False Application Prohibited.Go to the top

(a) No person who applies for a benefit, license, permit, grant, variance, special review, nonconforming use review, height review, solar access review, subdivision approval, planned unit development approval, zoning, rezoning, or for permission to do any other act or to alter any status for which approval by the City is required by this code or other law shall recklessly make any false statement in writing on such application or in support of it thereafter, or orally to any city employee, board, or city council on any matter material to such application or the disposition thereof, nor shall such person recklessly omit or fail to state any fact material to such application.

(b) The city manager may deem any approval of such application void.

 

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