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About this report
This report documents a selection of 14 public safety incidents in Boulder, Colorado from 1/6/26 to 1/25/26. These summaries are derived from police reports obtained from the Boulder Police Department.
This is not an exhaustive list of noteworthy incidents from this time frame. In January, Boulder will have 5-10 noteworthy incidents per day. In summer, that will be 10-15 or more.
These reports had an uncommonly high number of redactions, which in some cases I am not able to explain. For example, the 1/11 bias motivated incident is believed to have taken place at the main public library at 1001 Arapahoe. As this is a public space, I don’t know why this location would be redacted from the report.
The Boulder Police Department does maintain its own blotter on X, which is intended to inform the community about incidents of note. For 8 of these 14 incidents, I have included links and screenshots showing what their depictions look like following my own summaries. As the reader will see, these do not provide any narrative whatsoever, nor anything about the outcome. They also list only one charge, even in instances where there were multiple charges.
Historically, many incidents of this nature would have been partially visible in real time through publicly accessible police scanner traffic. Since encryption, however, obtaining even limited information regarding day-to-day public-safety activity in Boulder increasingly requires individual records requests, significant delays, and ongoing out-of-pocket expense.
WARRANT ARREST — SUBJECT CONTACTED AFTER DISTURBANCE CALL
1/6
1440 Pine, Attention Homes
11:21 AM
Officers responded regarding a male in a third floor hallway who was hallucinating and yelling. When officers contacted him, he was calm and cooperative but expressed paranoia that officers were following him around the city.
Officers learned the man had a felony warrant out of DOC (original charge of burglary). He was arrested and booked at the jail.
Here is what the official BPD Blotter’s depiction of this incident looks like:
CRIMINAL MISCHIEF — OBJECT THROWN AT RTD BUS
1/8
(Location redacted)
1:07 PM
An officer responded to a criminal mischief. The reporting party, an RTD bus driver, said he was stopped at a traffic light when a man threw a container of food at the bus window. The driver asked him why he did so, and the man replied, “It’s funny, right?” The driver said it was not funny and it was endangering public transit. The suspect left the scene. He was not identified.
I’m not able to explain why this location – apparently a public roadway intersection – was redacted from the report.
Here is what the official BPD Blotter’s depiction of this incident looks like:
REPEAT TRESPASS — ARREST AFTER MULTIPLE CONTACTS
1/8
(Location redacted)
1:30 AM
Officers responded regarding a female who had trespassed on the property several times throughout the night and in recent days. Security advised she was no longer welcome as she was not a resident. Per the report, she was unhoused, so officers provided her warmer clothes and shoes to help her out. However, she continued to trespass at this location. Officers eventually arrested her and took her to jail, where she was booked and released with a summons for 3rd degree criminal trespass.
This location was redacted from the report. I believe this was at 1440 Pine, Attention Homes.
ASSAULT ON STAFF / PEACE OFFICER — INTAKE INCIDENT
1/10
(Location redacted)
4:08 PM
Officers responded regarding a man yelling and spitting at people in the intake area. They spoke with an employee, who said he’d asked the man to calm down multiple times. Finally, he attempted to escort the man out; however the suspect unexpectedly turned around, charged at him and tried to hit him.
During this conversation, the suspect stood up from the sidewalk and continued screaming at other guests. An officer told him to sit back down on the sidewalk. The man refused, ultimately requiring a physical takedown. He screamed obscenities while resisting being handcuffed. He became somewhat more compliant while being searched but resisted being placed into the patrol car and then kicked an officer’s hip.
The man was charged with 3rd degree assault, harassment, obstruction, resisting arrest, attempted assault, and 2nd degree assault on a peace officer (felony).
I believe this was at 4869 Broadway, the shelter; however I don’t know why that information would be redacted.
BIAS-MOTIVATED HARASSMENT AND TRESPASS — ARREST
1/11
(Location redacted)
12:19 PM
Officers responded regarding a male who had been suspended and was back and refusing to leave. When contacted by security guards, he made racist remarks to them and called them a racial slur multiple times.
Officers reviewed security footage which showed the man yelling at a security guard and then posturing to fight him. This incident was also partially recorded by a cafe barista.
When an officer asked the man why he was compliant with police but not the security guards, he said, “Because you’re the same color skin as me, we have something in common.”
The suspect was arrested and charged with 3rd degree trespassing, harassment, and bias-motivated crimes – intimidation. Officers learned he also had a FTA for public consumption of alcohol.
I believe this was at the Boulder Public Library at 1001 Arapahoe; however I don’t know why that information would be redacted.
FELONY ASSAULT ATTEMPT — PROJECTILE THROWN AT VICTIMS
1/11
14xx Canyon, Circle K
3:52 PM
Officers responded regarding an attempted assault by a female. They contacted the victim who said she observed the suspect insulting a staffer and attempted to move her along. She said the woman picked up a rock and threw it at both of them using an overhand pitch.
Officers spoke with the second victim, the staffer, who said the woman had come in the day before and caused a disturbance before being kicked out. He said the woman also called him racial slurs before throwing the rock.
Officers located the rock in question and determined it was 4-6” in circumference. Although it did not hit the victims, they note it was large enough to cause serious injury. They also view the security camera footage which captured the incident.
The woman was arrested and charged with 2nd degree assault and criminal attempt, both felonies.
ASSAULT WITH INJURY — SUSPECT ARRESTED NEXT DAY
1/16
(Location redacted)
7:44 PM
Officers responded to a reported assault. They found the victim with “visible injuries, including swelling and bruising to his face and head as well as what appeared to be blood on his nose and mouth. Medical personnel were requested to evaluate his condition.”
The victim tells officers that the suspect assaulted him, punching him in the face and head approximately four times. After he fell to the ground, he said the suspect punched and kicked him in the face several more times.
Officers learn the victim had two FTA’s out of the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office which were unrelated to the assault. After taking him to the hospital for medical treatment, they took him to jail. They also found him in possession of someone else’s credit card; he was charged with that as well.
Officers returned the following day and contacted the suspect. They arrested him for 3rd degree assault and found a small amount of meth in his possession.
This location was redacted from the report. I believe this was at 1440 Pine, Attention Homes.
Both the suspect and victim in this case were significantly older than the 18-24 range this facility is supposed to be housing.
DISORDERLY CONDUCT — FALSE WEAPON REPORT / ARREST
1/19
14xx Pearl
1:53 PM
An officer responded regarding a woman who had entered a store, yelled that she had a gun, and pulled out something that resembled a gun before leaving on foot. When the officer arrived, he found the woman being escorted out of another business by an employee. He contacted the woman, who pulled out a garden hose nozzle and pointed it at him, as if to shoot him, before walking away. The officer was able to get her into handcuffs.
Officers spoke with the manager of the second business. He says the woman came in and ordered three margaritas. After showing signs of intoxication, she began yelling curse words and tossing things around the restaurant.
Officers then spoke with the manager of the first business. She advised the woman had come in and started yelling that she had a gun and that there was going to be a shooting. When contacted by staff, she dropped her garden hose nozzle under a display, then retrieved it before leaving. This was captured on video.
Officers documented other incidents involving the woman earlier that day – including a trespassing at Attention Homes (summons issued) and two welfare checks. One officer recalled she spoke “nonsensically” for a majority of his interactions with her and at one point asked him if he could give her drugs.
The woman was arrested. At the jail, she became abusive with staff and grabbed a female deputy’s crotch while being searched. After being booked, she was given a summons and released.
Here is what the official BPD Blotter’s depiction of this incident looks like:
THEFT — MEDICAL EQUIPMENT STOLEN FROM SHELTER
1/19
4869 Broadway, the shelter
6:57 PM
Officers responded after a resident reported his oxygen generator had been stolen from under his bunk while he was asleep. Staff confirmed there were no cameras in the dorm area which might have captured the theft. They agreed to check the camera footage from the hallway.
This case was ultimately closed due to lack of suspect information. The oxygen generator was reportedly purchased for $3,500, but since it was used it was valued around $2000.
FELONY MENACING — THREAT WITH REPRESENTED WEAPON
1/21
4869 Broadway, the shelter
4:40 PM
An officer responded regarding a felony menacing. He spoke with the RP, who said he was riding on a bus when another man boarded and stood right next to him despite other available seats. When he said he asked why the other man did so, the man responded with profanities and racial slurs. The victim did not engage further and tried to ignore him.
The victim said when he got off the bus, the other man followed him to the shelter. He said the man pressed his backpack against his back “near his kidney area” and said he had a gun and threatened to shoot him. This went on for several seconds before shelter staff came out, although it’s not clear what action they took. The victim said he never saw a gun but believed the threats were credible.
Officers contacted the suspect, who initially provided a false name. They searched his bag and found no weapons. He says it was the other man who was being racist and had pushed him outside the shelter.
Officers placed the suspect in handcuffs before he was taken to the hospital for an unrelated medical complaint. He was issued a summons for felony menacing.
Here is what the official BPD Blotter’s depiction of this incident looks like:
STOLEN VEHICLE STOP — DISTRIBUTION-LEVEL FENTANYL SEIZED
1/22
28th and Iris
9:07 AM
Officers observed a vehicle driving southbound which was reported stolen. They conducted a traffic stop. The driver said the vehicle belonged to his father, and his father was aware he had taken it about 3 AM that morning. When told his father had reported it stolen about 5 AM, he said his father had memory issues.
The man refused permission to search the vehicle. However, one officer observed an open container of alcohol in plain view. Officers searched the vehicle and found a glass pipe and container with a small amount of suspected methamphetamine. They also found another container with a distribution quantity of powdered fentanyl.
The man was arrested. At the father’s request, the vehicle was impounded.
Here is what the official BPD Blotter’s depiction of this incident looks like:
ARSON — PORTA POTTY DESTROYED BY FIRE
1/22
S 36th and Eastman Ave, Martin Park
11:17 PM
Police and fire responded regarding a porta potty fully engulfed in flames. The fire department put it out. Officers were not able to develop any suspect leads.
Per the report, “the port-a-john was completely destroyed, with nothing salvageable, only a puddle of plastic and residue.”
Here is what the official BPD Blotter’s depiction of this incident looks like:
FELONY ASSAULT (SBI) — EMPLOYEE ATTACKED INSIDE RESTAURANT
1/25
18xx 29th St (this location was included in the report; however I am redacting it)
7:08 AM
Officers responded regarding a possible assault. They met with the victim, who had a bleeding nose and a broken tooth. She says the suspect came in to retrieve an online order and asked for a wipe to clean a table. The employee said she couldn’t provide him one, but she apologized that the table wasn’t cleaner and offered to clean it herself. The man escalated and began cursing at her.
The victim tried to deescalate the situation and asked the man to leave. He pushed past her and grabbed his order from behind the counter, then started filling a cup at the drink machine. The employee told him his order would be refunded but he needed to leave immediately. At this point, the man punched her in the face 3-5 times, knocking her into a booth. Another employee attempted to intervene, and he assaulted her as well. The suspect then grabbed his food, left, and drove off in a vehicle with no license plates. This was all captured on surveillance video.
The first employee was taken to the hospital and suffered injuries including a broken nose and a broken tooth. Officers later confirmed this assault qualified as SBI (serious bodily injury).
Officers located the unoccupied vehicle nearby. They staged in an unmarked patrol car. When they saw the man enter the vehicle and drive away, they conducted a traffic stop and took him into custody. He corroborated what happened but said he was acting in self-defense. The interviewing officer noticed he had blood on his knuckles. The man was arrested and charged with 2nd degree assault (felony), 3rd degree assault, and trespassing.
Here is what the official BPD Blotter’s depiction of this incident looks like:
DRUG POSSESSION AND CRIMINAL MISCHIEF — LIBRARY PARKING LOT
1/25
1001 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder Public Library
11:17 AM
An officer responded regarding reports of a suspicious vehicle in the library parking lot. He arrived and observed the car with all of its doors open and a male kneeling down by the rear passenger side door. The man had garden shears and a possible knife in his hands; he put these in the car when instructed.
The officer explained there were reports of the man trying door handles of the car next to him. He learned the man had a conviction for a narcotic-related DUI. The man admitted he used cocaine “every now and then” and that he last used it around 2 AM that morning after leaving a bar. He said he either snorts or injects it.
The officer looked into the car and saw two syringes in plain view. The man consented to a vehicle search. The search yielded items including glass pipes, metal pipes, small clear plastic bags with a white powder (which he admitted was cocaine), a butane torch, a large silver spoon with burn marks on the bottom, more used syringes, and other paraphernalia.
The officer also noticed a right side mirror from a neighboring vehicle, which had been torn off, laying on the floor mat. The man told the officer that when he uses narcotics, his undiagnosed schizophrenia “acts up, and gets worse.” He said, “it’s possible I just ripped it off while acting crazy.”
The man was taken into custody. While the officer was documenting the drug paraphernalia, the owner of the neighboring car showed up. She said the mirrors were both intact when she parked.
The officer decided not to pursue charges related to DUI/DWI. The man was given a summons for criminal mischief and possession of controlled substances and drug paraphernalia. He was not arrested.
Here is what the official BPD Blotter’s depiction of this incident looks like:
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