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This report documents seven (7) public-safety incidents occurring in Boulder, Colorado from July 20th – July 29th using police reports obtained through Colorado Open Records Act requests. These are presented chronologically. The incidents summarized here were reconstructed primarily from written police reports and related official records.
This is a very small amount of the crime that I believe happened during this time frame. I currently have approximately 20 more requests in, all submitted between 8/6 – 8/13, which have not been filled. That does not include requests which were denied. Boulder, in the summertime, will have 10+ noteworthy incidents every day. (You can get a better sense by comparing to this time frame from my report from last year, although that report too is just a sampling.) Slow processing times, ongoing expenses, redactions, and recurring issues with the city’s own datasets have made this work extremely difficult.
Some additional reports which I’ve sought and not received are detailed in my last post:
https://boulderpublicsafety.org/2026/08/13/reporting-update-8-13-26/
Man Arrested After Making Threats at Pearl Street Shop
7/20
11xx Pearl
11:30 AM
Officers responded to an apparel shop on the Pearl Street Mall regarding a man who had threatened to shoot up the store. When contacted, the man refused to identify himself.
Police spoke with the store manager. She told them the man had come in around 10:15 AM. When she tried to engage him in small talk, he provided only short answers. He then made a statement along the lines of, “Yeah, I’m just gonna shoot this place up,” while making gun noises and hand motions as if he were shooting a gun.
She said the man left, returned 20–30 minutes later, and repeatedly slammed some of the store merchandise on display before leaving again. He returned again approximately 30 minutes later. This time, when she asked if he was interested in buying anything, he responded that he was interested in buying her. He then began speaking very loudly in a language she was unable to identify. Two customers remained in the store with the manager until the man left.
The manager described being “freaked out” because she didn’t know if the man had weapons or if he would follow through with his threats.
The man was arrested on charges of menacing, disorderly conduct, and harassment. He was taken to jail, where he was identified and lodged.
Fire/Property Damage at Eatery
7/22
17xx Broadway
9:34 AM
Officers responded regarding a suspected arson. They spoke with the RP, who said that two unknown suspects had lit a pile of sticks on fire about 5’ from the building. She also showed them a table belonging to the business that had been damaged, as well as a can of white paint that had been opened and dumped near the building.
Officers reviewed security footage which showed the suspects, but due to the angle and quality of the video (including being in black and white), they were unable to identify them.
Child-Abuse/CPS Welfare Check
7/22
[Location redacted but see below]
10:00 AM
Officers responded to an apartment with Child Protective Services regarding a case of possible child abuse. They spoke with the RP, who said that a baby had a rash that was not being properly treated and that there was marijuana, meth, and fentanyl use in the apartment. They contacted the unit, where a female answered the door. She was hesitant to let officers in but eventually provided consent. The baby was in a carrier on the bed.
Officers found the one-bedroom apartment in disarray. They found drug paraphernalia, including numerous bulbous glass pipes, some used and some broken; small pieces of aluminum foil; and razor blades on a shelf approximately 18” from the floor.
The female occupant told officers she was going to begin cleaning the apartment that day and had an appointment with A Precious Child, an organization that provides resources to children and families. She said she would take the baby to the emergency room to have the rash checked. She said she only smoked marijuana, did not smoke around the baby, and made sure someone else could look after the baby whenever she was high.
While officers were in the apartment, the baby’s father walked in. He told them the paraphernalia was his and that he was the only one using drugs. He said he only used off-site, such as in parks and parking garages, and was trying to get clean. Officers noted he was shaking; he explained that he was detoxing from opiates. He said he would throw away all of his paraphernalia that day.
The report says the couple and baby would be checked on by CPS the following day (7/23). Both occupants said they would undergo drug testing through CPS.
Officers ultimately did not file child-abuse charges. The baby was not mobile and therefore was not able to reach the drug paraphernalia in the unit, and officers did not speak with any witnesses who had seen the couple using drugs in the baby’s presence. The case was closed without charges.
This report is heavily redacted, including the address and names of everyone involved. I believe this was at Attention Homes / TGTHR, at 1440 Pine St.
Racial Harassment, Threats, and Indecent Exposure at Fast Food Restaurant
7/24
24xx Baseline Rd.
1:29 PM
An officer responded to a disturbance in progress at a fast food restaurant. En route to the scene, he was informed that a female suspect had threatened to kill the RP’s son and had since boarded a bus headed north on Broadway.
The officer spoke with the RP, who was visibly distraught, and her son. She said the two of them were sitting in her car in the drive-through lane after having ordered food. She said they heard an unknown female screaming racial slurs at the drive-through window employee. She said the woman told the female employee that she did not belong in the United States, that she was not an American, and that she “needed to go back to her country.”
The RP said she tried to intervene. The suspect told her, “I’m gonna kill your son,” and then something to the effect of, “I’m going to cut you to pieces.” She then picked up a rock around the size of a softball, held it above her head, and acted like she was about to throw it at them. The RP noted the car was boxed in and one of the car doors had been opened so they could hear the commotion better.
The female suspect did not throw the rock. However, before leaving and while still holding the rock, she “flashed” her buttocks and genitals at the victims. This was corroborated by another witness.
The officer spoke with the female employee. She said the suspect became angry when she was not given free sauce with her meal. The suspect left; it was about five minutes later that she began her rant.
There was no surveillance footage outside the restaurant. The officer determined there was probable cause for felony menacing, misdemeanor bias-motivated intimidation, and misdemeanor public indecency. However, the female suspect was not identified.
This call was unrelated to the harassment and menacing of a tour group on the CU campus, which occurred less than an hour later and less than a mile away. In that case, an unknown male suspect yelled profanities and then brandished a knife at the victims. He was not identified. This incident was described in this CU Safety Alert, which includes a photo of the suspect:
https://alerts.colorado.edu/2026/07/24/cu-safety-alert-reported-menacing-outside-duane-physics-building
Thefts/Robbery at Gas Station and Dispensary
7/27
Area of Folsom/Pearl
9:00 AM
Officers responded to a convenience store regarding a man who had reportedly stolen cigarettes after being trespassed for stealing the previous day. They spoke with the RP, the employee on duty, who said the man grabbed the cigarettes and began walking out. When the RP confronted him, the man got within a foot of him and repeatedly asked, “Who am I?” The RP, feeling threatened, backed off and let him go.
Another witness confirmed the exchange. While an officer was getting his information, he saw the suspect crossing the street and made contact. The man admitted stealing the cigarettes. He refused to sit down, and as officers struggled to get him into handcuffs, he physically resisted, including tensing up and trying to reach into his pocket. Officers were eventually able to handcuff him. They found the cigarettes and a small pocket knife in his pockets. The man was taken to the hospital for a medical clearance, as he appeared to have an abrasion on his shoulder from the struggle.
During this contact, another call came in from a nearby dispensary. An employee told officers the man had previously been a regular customer and had not caused problems before. She said he grabbed three containers of marijuana and began to leave. When she confronted him, he asked, “Do you know who I am?” and later told her, “I will fight you for it.”
She tried to grab the marijuana from him; he ripped his arm away, causing pain to her right index finger and dislodging an acrylic fingernail. He then slammed the door as he left, striking her with it. This was captured on surveillance camera. The marijuana was valued at $171.
After his medical clearance, the man was taken to jail, charged with:
- Second-Degree Burglary
- Robbery
- Third-Degree Assault
- Theft
- Obstructing a Peace Officer
- Resisting Arrest
The burglary charge stemmed from the man having been trespassed from the convenience store the previous day and then returning and stealing cigarettes. (This is usually a simple theft charge.) Officers did not charge him with menacing or harassment because of differences between the accounts provided by the employee and the other witness.
Assault Outside Boulder Public Library
7/28
1001 Arapahoe, Boulder Public Library
7:47 PM
Officers responded regarding a report of a physical fight at the library. They made contact with one of the people involved on the south side of the building. He said that approximately two days earlier, he had made a comment about a juvenile’s father being a “d–k,” which led to a confrontation. He said he apologized and considered the matter closed.
The man said that on this day, he was sitting in front of the library when an unknown male approached him and told him to leave or they would beat him up, then threw his belongings on the ground. He said the male called him derogatory names and accused him of inappropriate behavior toward the juvenile. He said he got up to leave, at which point the male punched him approximately 2–4 times in the chest. He said he did not swing back or defend himself; instead, he ran across the street to get away.
Officers discovered that the Englewood Police Department had issued an attempt to locate the man due to concerns about his welfare. He confirmed he was okay and did not need anything. Officers also spoke with witnesses in the area who said they had seen the man and another person involved in a confrontation but had not seen any punches thrown. Multiple people reported that the man had been causing ongoing issues in the area over the previous few days.
Officers were unable to locate the suspect the man said had assaulted him. They spoke with the man’s grandmother by phone and advised her about his welfare. They also advised him to avoid the library area to prevent further incidents.
The following day, 7/29, officers spoke with the library manager. He reviewed surveillance footage and confirmed that it showed some sort of fight. However, he told officers he could not release the footage without a subpoena. He provided contact information for the library director.
The case was closed due to the lack of suspect information.
About two hours later, officers responded to the library again regarding another fight, this time at the skate park. The altercation reportedly involved multiple people and broke up as officers arrived. One man told officers he had been kicked in the ribs 12-15 times. He was taken to the hospital. Officers received conflicting accounts of what happened and did not make any arrests. This victim was later arrested on 8/8 (FTA) and 8/16 (multiple property-crime charges).
Attempted Assault on Officer on Pearl Street
7/29
Broadway and Pearl
10:46 AM
Officers responded to multiple calls about a man in all black, wandering around the Pearl Street Mall, yelling and behaving aggressively. A BPD drone operator spotted the man and aired that he was “squaring up” with a Downtown Boulder ambassador before heading eastbound on the mall. One officer reported the man approached a pedestrian and attempted to touch his dog; the pedestrian pulled his dog away and appeared startled by the man’s behavior.
As officers approached the man from behind, he turned around, looked directly at one of them, and attempted to punch him. The officer wrapped his arms around the suspect, who continued resisting and thrashing around. He stopped resisting once he was on the ground. The suspect was not injured; however, the officer suffered minor injuries to his wrist and elbow.
Officers found the man had multiple warrants out of Edgewood, Aurora, and Lakewood, but noted that the warrants did not meet the jail standard for an arrest. The report also notes that the man had been contacted the previous night and was not arrested on the warrants then either. However, the man was arrested on new charges of attempted second-degree assault on a peace officer, obstructing a peace officer, and disorderly conduct.
Once in the back of the patrol car, the man became irate and continued yelling en route to the jail.
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Boulder Public Safety 