In many card games, the wild card makes it easy to win because it works in any situation. Police in Denver, Jefferson County and Adams County have a wild card at their disposal too. Harassment, C.R.S. 18-9-111, is charged when police can’t make allegations of a crime fit any other statute. Broadly written to include words like “harass, annoy, alarm” another person, men and women are charged with this crime when they allegedly “strike, kick, or otherwise touch a person.” It is also charged when someone is accused of following another in a public place. Other scenarios where this crime is charged include phone calls, uttering insults, and the use of offensively coarse language in a manner likely to provoke a disorderly response (how can you predict what another will do?).
To illustrate how extreme this statute can be applied, I once had a client charged with Harassment in Denver County because she walked along-side another woman trying to talk with her. The First Amendment was ignored. So much for freedom of speech.
Most commonly, Harassment is charged in Arapahoe County, Douglas County and Broomfield County in domestic violence cases. Remember, Domestic Violence does not require any violence at all. If a man makes several calls to his girlfriend, trying to reconnect with her after she has broken up with him, he is charged with the crime of Harassment. If a guy grabs the woman and tries to hold onto her arm during an argument, he is charged with this crime. If a woman uses offensive words in texts to express her anger toward a cheating boyfriend, she is charged the same.
Harassment is a class 3 misdemeanor and could involve a county jail sentence. A domestic violence harassment charge will result in mandatory classes and loss of your firearm rights in places like Conejos and Costilla County. So, don’t take this crime lightly. If contacted by police, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent (don’t answer any questions or make any statements to police), and call the experienced lawyers at the O’Malley Law Office, P.C., at 303-731-0719. Together, we can protect your future.