Lindsey Toomer, Colorado Newsline

Many are remembering former U.S. Rep. Pat Schroeder, a Colorado Democrat who was a trailblazer for women’s rights throughout her life and career.

Schroeder spent time in Iowa during her childhood and graduated from Roosevelt High School in Des Moines in 1958.

Schroeder, who represented Denver in Congress for 24 years beginning in 1972, died Monday at 82 in Celebration, Florida. She is recognized for redefining women’s role in politics, regularly using her wit to stand up to those who questioned her place in Congress.

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, also a Democrat, succeeded Schroeder in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District seat.

“Women have voices on every major piece of legislation — not just so-called women’s issues, but everything from defense issues, to financial services issues, to energy,” DeGette said at a press conference Tuesday. “And that’s the legacy that Pat and her generation gave to this whole next generation.”

Schroeder became the first mother of young children to serve in Congress when her kids were ages 2 and 6. DeGette said Tuesday that her children were also ages 2 and 6 when she began serving in Congress, and credited Schroeder with teaching her that she can defuse almost any situation with dignity and wit.

“When Pat started her time in Congress, she had nobody to help her figure out what to do,” DeGette said. “And so when I came to Congress 24 years later, she was there for minute things, like how do you balance the after-school schedule and the congressional schedule, but she was also there for things like how do you get a good committee assignment?”

DeGette shared a Valentine’s Day card Schroeder sent her just last month congratulating her on becoming a grandmother. The congresswoman said she has only ever voted for two people in Congress: Schroeder and herself.

When asked toward the start of her career by a congressman how she could be a mother and a congresswoman, Schroeder replied, “I have a brain and a uterus, and I use both” — a maxim DeGette said she repeated frequently. Schroeder is also credited with giving President Ronald Reagan the nickname “Teflon president,” because of his ability to escape scrutiny for his administration’s political scandals.

DeGette noted that when Schroeder became the first woman appointed to the Armed Services Committee, she was there alongside Rep. Ron Dellums, the first African American to serve on the committee. The chair of the committee made the two of them share one chair because he said women and Black members were only worth half of any other member. Through her role on this committee, Schroeder became one of the first voices advocating for women’s rights in the military.

“Rep. Schroeder was a one-of-a-kind leader and barrier breaker. Marlon and I are deeply saddened by the passing of Pat, a friend, a leader, and a champion for Colorado and our nation,” Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement, referring to his husband. “We send our deepest condolences to Pat’s family and all of the lives she touched and dreams she inspired across our state and country. Our daughter’s future and women across our country’s future are better thanks to her service.”

U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado said in a tweet that he’s grateful for everything Schroeder did for Colorado. He also praised her role in passing the Family and Medical Leave Act as well as prohibiting employers from firing women who are pregnant.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser called Schroeder “one of the all time greats.”

This story was originally published by Colorado Newsline, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com. Follow Colorado Newsline on Facebook and Twitter.

With the support of New Era Colorado and other local advocacy organizations, the group of students from Denver East High School, George Washington High School and Northfield High School organized the march to make sure their generations’ voices are heard by those making decisions impacting their lives and futures.

“Two hundred fifty-three days ago, people with the capacity for pregnancy had to wonder what their futures would look like; 253 days ago, part of our control was stripped away from us,” said Sarita Patel, a George Washington student who led the efforts to organize the march. “The world is on fire. My world is on fire. My generation lives in fear. Our bodies, the one thing that we’re supposed to have control of, is being stripped away from us. I don’t see liberty in that. What I choose to do with my body should be my choice.”

Patel said that just because it’s been some time since the Supreme Court decided to overturn a constitutional right to abortion established by Roe v. Wade doesn’t mean those who care about access to abortion will stop fighting, as the decision still impacts people with uteruses across the country. This is what inspired her to bring together people from across multiple Denver high schools to plan the march — she said they just want to be heard.

“I look around me and I see how many individuals and students are hurt by these decisions that are being made for them, and I was tired of just watching all of my friends and my classmates and the people around me get angry about these decisions and not be able to do anything about it,” Patel said.

Patel talked about how overwhelmed she felt by a prompt she had in English class asking “to what extent does individual responsibility matter in the face of huge systemic problems?” as she never felt able to properly answer the question.

“The truth is that standing in front of huge systemic issues is terrifying. It seems hopeless. I mean, what can a 5-4 — 5-4 and a half if we’re pushing it — 17-year-old biracial female girl do in the face of huge systemic issues that might have even the slightest impact?” Patel said. “I don’t know. But I’m done waiting. I’m done waiting for these decisions to be made for me, about me right now.”

On the west steps of the Capitol before the march began, multiple students and supporters, including Democratic state representative and Denver mayoral candidate Leslie Herod, shared stories about the history of reproductive rights, poems and performances. Herod said too many states are still seeing bills and legislation criminalizing those who perform the abortions, those seeking abortions and those who help others access an abortion.

“Right now, I have my colleagues in other states who are fighting to protect reproductive justice for all people, but unfortunately, they are losing that battle,” Herod said.

Luna Olin and Tatum Lezzote, students at George Washington, shared a performance they created for their school’s speech and debate program. The skit shows the difficulties a 17-year-old living in Missouri has trying to get an abortion, leading the two friends to travel across state lines so they can receive the care they need without going through their parents.

Olin said they wanted to pick a topic that could be an educational opportunity for others since the speech and debate program is “very privileged and very white.” The duo typically performs the piece at different schools and speech and debate tournaments, and Olin said they never expected to bring it to an event like the march.

“I think it’s nice because it feels more like directly making an impact versus being at a random school with parent volunteers,” Olin said.

Luna Olin, left, and Tatum Lezotte, both sophomores at George Washington High School, perform an enactment of the difficulties of accessing abortion services during a student-led rally for reproductive rights at the Colorado Capitol in Denver, March 4, 2023. (Kevin Mohatt for Colorado Newsline)

Camila Navarrette, New Era’a communications director, said that because the organization works with high school students regularly, they were eager to help when the students organizing the march asked for support. She said it’s important for young people to show that they care and are paying attention to decisions that impact them.

“We’re all about engaging young people in the political process, and as you can see today, that starts young — that’s not just voting,” Navarrette said. “This is just important for students to proactively show that ‘We are here, we are voting, we are engaged and we’re gonna vote on this.’”

Other organizations supporting the student march included Planned Parenthood, Cobalt, Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, Soul 2 Soul Sisters, Elephant Circle, ProgressNow and the ACLU of Colorado.

Colorado Democrats are planning to bring forward a package of reproductive rights measures in the Legislature in the coming weeks to further expand access to reproductive health care. Abortion remains legal in Colorado.

“Adults who can vote have more power and they have more ability to voice their opinions, but these laws are affecting us and we have no way to express or vote on these decisions even though they directly impact our demographic,” Patel said. “So what other choice do we have than to show that we still care about these issues if we can’t vote.”

Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com. Follow Colorado Newsline on Facebook and Twitter.

According to accounts of several staff members, Club Q owner Matthew Haynes has given most former employees less than $1,000 while others did not receive anything from a GoFundMe that raised more than $55,000 for staff and performers after the shooting.

Hysteria Brooks worked at Club Q as a show producer and drag performer for the past two years and arrived at Club Q as first responders were triaging victims. She said in the days following the shooting, Haynes gathered with his staff at a club manager’s house and told them he would take care of everyone.

“He was going to make sure that we were all OK financially, and we trusted him,” Brooks said. “For many Club Q employees, they entrusted that wholeheartedly and they were refusing help in the first month or two months.”

Tiara Latrice Kelley also worked as a producer and drag performer at Club Q and started her own GoFundMe for a benefit show she was hosting for victims and survivors shortly after the shooting. But because the GoFundMe had Club Q in the title, she said Haynes asked her to sign it over to him, which she did because he agreed to distribute the funds fairly.

Kelley noted, though, that prior to the shooting, most Club Q staff didn’t even know what Haynes looked like, as he lives full-time overseas in the United Kingdom.

“The fact that now he shows up and tries to act like he’s been on the forefront of this, he’s this community guy, and he’s not, he really isn’t,” Kelley said.

Right before the holidays hit at the end of 2022, though, Brooks said former staff started to wonder if they would get any funding before Christmas, as Haynes was “leaving everybody in the dark.” Through her role with the United Court of Pikes Peak Empire, the oldest LGBTQ organization in southern Colorado, Brooks said other members of the organization’s chapters throughout North America donated to support the local court following the tragedy, which led to staff members each getting $500 before Christmas.

After the holidays, Brooks said Haynes was still traveling around the country without communicating when the staff would receive help. She said people needed money as they were out of work and racking up new bills for therapy and doctor appointments.

Former staff soon learned from a Club Q Facebook post in mid-February that Haynes planned to distribute funding to employees based on their average earnings over a three month period. Brooks and Kelley both said the amount of money staff received under Haynes’ three-month average salary system is “laughable,” with most employees receiving less than $1,000. Kelley said the funding she got was closer to the amount she’d earn for three shows, not including tips.

“He genuinely thinks that this money is supposed to make up for the physical trauma, the emotional trauma, the mental trauma that followed the three months of the shooting, and it’s supposed to keep us going for months,” Brooks said.

Haynes did not respond to multiple requests from Newsline for an interview or comment on plans to reopen and distribute money raised for staff and victims.

‘A lot of disconnect’

Ashtin Gamblin was working the front door at Club Q the night of the shooting and was shot nine times in both her arms, resulting in broken bones on both sides. She said she isn’t healing, and that she isn’t in the mindset to work even if she could, with her continued inability to use one of her arms.

“The only reason I don’t have any bullet wounds in my torso is because Daniel (Aston) was in front of me,” Gamblin said. Aston was 1 of 5 people killed in the Nov. 19 shooting.

Gamblin received $981 from Haynes’ GoFundMe based on his three-month salary estimate, and her only consistent income is the $183 she gets from workers compensation every two weeks. She doesn’t think total funds distributed from ownership across all employees is more than $10,000, she said. She also said Haynes hasn’t given any money from the GoFundMe to the families of the five people who died the night of the shooting.

“It wasn’t my owners that called my husband or my mother,” Gamblin said. “They didn’t come see me in the hospital. They didn’t try … There’s a lot of disconnect with how they sound like they want to look like they care, but there isn’t that full connection of them actually caring.”

Speaking out about the issues that victims are facing with accessing funds raised in their names is all that is making Gamblin feel better lately, she said.

Seeking help elsewhere

Soon enough, former Club Q staff members connected with Bread and Roses, a queer-led nonprofit legal center based in Denver. Brooks said the organization has helped “tremendously” with supporting staff and victims, particularly with accessing money from the Colorado Healing Fund.

“We have a pretty clear sense that when horrible things happen, there are people who are totally generous and who will do anything they can to help, and then there are also people who will use it as an opportunity to either make money or cause harm,” said Z Williams, co-founder and director of client support and operations at Bread and Roses.

The partnership between Club Q staff and Bread and Roses resulted in a joint letter asking Haynes to release 75% of the funds raised in a lump sum for staff to distribute according to the system they created. The letter says Haynes informed staff they were no longer employed at Club Q through a Facebook post announcing future plans to renovate and reopen.

“This is but one of many slaps in the face for his grieving employees and contractors as well as the community at large,” the letter reads. “Matthew chose to reopen Buddies — a bathhouse that shares the wall with Club Q — a mere 3 weeks after the shooting. Patrons have to step over the Club Q memorial to access the bathhouse.”

Brooks said Haynes has kept the reopening of Buddies out of the public eye because he “knows that he would receive backlash for it.” Kelley said Haynes directly told her that he needed to reopen to make revenue and that there was a community who wanted Buddies to reopen.

Since the attack on Club Q, Williams said working with victims and survivors has become the largest part of their job. Bread and Roses also started a mutual aid fund called Queers for Q that’s raised over $100,000 so far, which the organization uses to support victims with no strings attached.

“People ask for it and we provide it … We believe that survivors know what they need and it’s our job to make sure they get it,” Williams said. “Surviving a tragedy is very expensive, both in terms of the cost of health care and mental health care, but also in terms of, sometimes you don’t feel like cooking and you need to be able to DoorDash, or you need to get out of town and see your loved ones.”

Kelley said the fact that other places were supporting former staff was another reason Haynes gave for not immediately distributing the money.

“We shouldn’t have had to go anywhere else to have people help us out. He had the means and the resources,” Kelley said about Haynes. “Second of all, it doesn’t matter who else helped us out — when people donated money to those causes, they donated it for the staff, the victims and the families, not for building, not for Matthew to stack his pockets. They donated it for us, so it’s just right that it should go to us.”

Brooks said that the GoFundMe from which Haynes continues to hold funding was advertised by Club Q as the official GoFundMe “to support staff, performers.” The GoFundMe’s description says it is managed by Club Q directly and will ensure staff “don’t suffer financial hardship due to this horrific act,” and that remaining funds would go toward an official memorial for Club Q victims and remodeling.

Williams said they’ve heard “pretty clearly” from families who lost loved ones in the shooting that they don’t want a memorial built at Club Q, especially without their input “and not in this way.”

“A memorial is for the loved ones of the people who died. It’s not public art for business or anything like that,” Williams said. “I’ve heard and I’ve seen really clearly a desire for the employees to also make sure that those who died are honored in the right way.”

All Club Q staff — with the exception of one who Brooks said is Haynes’ “right-hand person” — came to a unanimous agreement on how they would distribute the funding if they receive it, with a tiered system giving the most funds to those with the most severe injuries and medical bills. Brooks said all the staff are on the same page in wanting to make sure that those who need to be taken care of are taken care of.

“The people that gave money to that GoFundMe did it because they were under the impression that it was going to the staff and employees first, that we were going to be taken care of first and then whatever was left over for the building,” Brooks said. “Matthew has since switched that — the building will be taken care of first and then whatever is left over has gone to the staff and employees.”

Kelley said Haynes could have better handled the situation by directly speaking with his employees and finding out what they wanted and needed.

“It was obvious to us pretty quickly after the tragedy that Matthew didn’t really give a s*** about what we had to say,” Kelley said. “He could have really just listened to us.”

Accessing Colorado Healing Fund donations

Jordan Finegan, executive director of the Colorado Healing Fund nonprofit, said her organization doesn’t actively fundraise, but it exists for people to donate to victims of specific tragedies like the Club Q shooting.

The Healing Fund brought in over $50,000 within 24 hours of the Club Q shooting and over $200,000 within three days, Finegan said. Now, the healing fund has brought in around $2.2 million, with $1.9 million already distributed to 85 people including victims, family of victims and Club Q staff.

The money that has yet to be distributed, Finegan said, will be held for when survivors need continued long-term support. She said experts have typically found that the first, third and sixth years after a tragedy like the Club Q shooting are “extremely difficult times,” and if all the funds go out at once there won’t be any left for those who need it later on.

Finegan said the Healing Fund works with victim advocates and organizations with more “boots on the ground” like the nonprofit Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance to distribute funds. She said that ensuring victims only need to maintain contact with one person — the advocate they have already been in contact with — provides a sense of security and familiarity.

“The Healing Fund is not a direct service provider, and when it was created it was determined by the 20 plus experts that it will be faster and easier if the money goes to the direct service provider so the Healing Fund isn’t having to sort through every request, when we are a one person operation,” Finegan said in an email.

When Gamblin was being treated for her injuries, she said the hospital lost her wedding ring, which had been passed down from her great grandparents. She also had to buy additional supplies for her pets, who are all registered emotional support animals, as she wasn’t able to take care of them as she previously could without full mobility of her arms.

When she went through COVA to access the Healing Fund, Gamblin said she was denied reimbursement for the pet supplies and wedding ring. She said she had to argue with COVA over what is and isn’t covered after they had questions about what she was purchasing.

“One of the things that made me feel kind of normal again was to have a ring on my finger, and so I desperately wanted another ring, so I spent $700 on a band” Gamblin said. “They’ll tell the public that they can’t approve or deny an expense, but they do.”

Mari Dennis took over as executive director at COVA at the start of December. She said COVA doesn’t have its own victim advocates, but partners with advocates within local law enforcement departments and even at the state level when necessary.

She said advocates will bring her a form stating what kind of assistance a victim needs and how much, and then get a check either to the advocate or directly to the victim. For Club Q survivors, Dennis said she’s worked with advocates through the Colorado Springs Police Department, Bread and Roses, and the Colorado Health Partnership.

Dennis said the Healing Fund board wanted to know the kind of needs people wanted covered early on, and she kept them updated on monthly expense requests as they came in for their approval. She said if there’s a particularly unique request that comes in outside of a monthly expense, she goes to the Healing Fund for clearance. Dennis said she herself doesn’t have the authority to approve or deny any one expense.

Finegan said general requests are approved right away as long as there are funds to provide.

“Ninety-nine percent of requests have been and are fulfilled,” Finegan said. “But if they are out of the ordinary, we look at how it is connected to the incident and if there are other ways to pay for it initially if possible.”

Other ways could include payment by the hospital, workers compensation or victims compensation, Finegan said.

“We do not have unlimited funding, so requests that may not be granted for those various reasons ensures we’re able to provide as much support to as many victims as possible,” Finegan added. “But also this is why we issued this most recent large cash distribution so individuals can use it as they need.”

Williams said the Healing Fund is a “failed model of response” to tragedies like the Club Q shooting, creating a “paternal relationship between survivors of violence and the resources they need to survive.” They said nobody knows better what survivors need than the survivors themselves, and holding back money to be used later is not in their best interest.

“Sending the money to nonprofits is not sending the money to survivors — that is not synonymous. And what happens is that those nonprofits then become gatekeepers between survivors and their money,” Williams said.

Part of their job at Bread and Roses is helping victims fill out the request forms so they can access these funds, and Williams said it’s “a humiliating process.” They said survivors are required to send financial documents so the Healing Fund can approve what the funds are being used for.

Finegan said if someone has additional needs recovering from the tragedy being fundraised for, “all they have to do is request the support through their advocate.”

Williams said there is no expert in any one person’s trauma, and having a panel of people deciding what to do with the funding is a disrespectful process that leads to retraumitization and revictimization. They also said the healing fund needs to be more transparent, as it hasn’t released any reports about what it does with the funding it receives and why.

“Their entire system is based off of ‘someone else knows better what people need,’ and I just fundamentally disagree with that and I’ve watched how much it changes people’s lives when you just give them the money,” Williams said. “One of the most important things that we can do is try and give (victims) as much a sense of autonomy back: You have the freedom to move, you have the freedom of safety, you have the freedom of choice.”

Building back the community

Club Q long held the title of the go-to spot for the LGBTQ community in Colorado Springs. Since the shooting, though, the community has found support in new places.

“For the longest time, Club Q has been the safe space for the Springs for the LGBTQ community, and I think that in a lot of ways, Matthew depends on that being the case,” Kelley said. “But also, what I would like for our LGBTQ community to know is that there are other safe spaces and that we don’t have to be dependent upon Matthew and his mess.”

While Brooks hasn’t found a job, she’s continued performing shows, which she said has been difficult with her anxiety and PTSD. She’s also prioritized helping her friends and community make sure they have what they need to survive in the short-term.

“I don’t necessarily feel like I’ve grieved yet,” Brooks said. “I feel like I’ve just kind of been advocating for my community and advocating for my bar staff and contractors to ensure that they all have everything they need to grieve and to be able to make it to the next month. I feel personally like that’s my responsibility right now as a pillar in my community.”

Kelley said she’s also just been trying to keep her head above water, and that thankfully there are many other venues that have been booking shows for her and other former Club Q performers to make some more cash.

Brooks said the Luxe Daiquiri Lounge opened not long after the Club Q shooting and started making a name for itself as the new queer spot in town. She said many of the former Club Q producers and entertainers have found a new home there, along with some of Club Q’s regular customers.

“The owners of Luxe are incredible people,” Brooks said. “They have taught us what it’s like to actually care about people from an owner’s perspective, because they have implemented security measures that ensure everyone’s safety. They have made sure that the staff and employees have a say in what security measures would make us feel safe.”

Williams reiterated that a bar just being a gay bar doesn’t inherently make it special. It’s the people who bring in regulars and make sure patrons have a good experience who do.

“A gay bar is not in and of itself a precious place,” Williams said. “It becomes that when it’s filled with people, and the people who worked there, who were the bartenders, the other staff who produced the shows and entertained — those are the people that made Club Q such an incredible place, and many of them right now are struggling just to know how they’re going to pay rent or get by while they’re also trying to recover from serious injury, trauma and the loss of their families.”

Brooks said most of the former staff don’t want to return to work at Club Q if it does reopen.

“Without the staff, without the people, I don’t want to go back,” Gamblin said. “They’re the reason I started working there, the reason I wanted to keep working there.”

Kelley said she can’t wrap her head around the idea of reopening the club at all, and that if it does she couldn’t bring herself to go back.

“I know a lot of us are ready to wash our hands of Matthew and Club Q as soon as we receive the funds that were donated in our name,” Brooks said. “The only thing that we want to see from Matthew is him releasing the funds to us for us to distribute in a way that we’ve all decided.”

Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com. Follow Colorado Newsline on Facebook and Twitter.

As the U.S. House of Representatives proved unable to elect a speaker Tuesday after three votes, Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado emerged as one of the Republicans leading the charge against Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s candidacy.

Boebert, the only Colorado Republican in the House who did not support McCarthy, voted for Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio for speaker in all votes Tuesday, though Jordan has said he doesn’t want the role and nominated McCarthy ahead of the second ballot.

Boebert has been a key negotiating member of the House Freedom Caucus voicing opposition to McCarthy’s candidacy.

All six of Colorado’s Democratic representatives voted for Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York for speaker, while Republican Reps. Ken Buck and Doug Lamborn maintained their support of McCarthy.

Before the first votes were cast Tuesday, Boebert told reporters that the group of Republicans against McCarthy presented him a plan Monday evening that would have gotten him their votes to become speaker, but he rejected the offer.

“I have been working every day to unify the Republican Party for the American people,” Boebert said. “And yesterday we had a deal that was not a selfish deal in any way for Kevin McCarthy, to get him the gavel on the first ballot, and he eagerly dismissed us.”

Jordan and McCarthy, the only two Republicans left with votes in their favor by the end of the day, both were subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 committee investigating the insurrection of the U.S. Capitol, and were later referred to the House Ethics Committee for refusing to testify.

In a press conference Tuesday morning, Democratic Reps.-elect Yadira Caraveo and Brittany Pettersen emphasized that the Democratic Party is united in looking to get right to work without “playing politics.” The Democratic Party unanimously supported Jeffries in each vote Tuesday.

It was the first time since 1923 that Congress has failed to elect a speaker of the House on its first vote. In all three votes, Jeffries had the most votes — but not a majority — of any candidate, due to the Republican split.

Congress adjourned for the day after a third vote saw no candidate for speaker reach the necessary 218 votes. The House will reconvene Wednesday, but new members can’t be sworn into office until a speaker is elected.

Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com. Follow Colorado Newsline on Facebook and Twitter.

Dalvin Gadson and his attorneys filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against three members of the Colorado Springs Police Department who are accused of using excessive force against Gadson during a traffic stop in October.

At a news conference in front of the Colorado Springs Police Department Wednesday morning, civil rights attorney Harry Daniels said the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court of Colorado calls out the three officers’ alleged use of excessive force when pulling Gadson out of his car and beating him after finding his car didn’t have a license plate properly displayed.

The three officers are Colby Hickman, Matthew Anderson and Christopher Hummel.

Body camera footage from Gadson’s Oct. 9 arrest shows an officer telling Gadson to get out of the vehicle so the officer can detain him. Gadson, a 29-year-old Black veteran, stayed in the car despite officers’ instructions. After an officer says Gadson’s going to be “detained in handcuffs,” on suspicion of a DUI, Gadson responds, “No, I’m not.” At that moment officers descended on him and started beating him as they pulled him out of the vehicle. A second officer after removing the passenger entered the car from the passenger side and punched Gadson. Officers continued striking him once he was on the ground.

Colorado Springs police also said Gadson physically fought back against officers as they tried to pull him from the car and “on more than one instance re-entered the vehicle in the area of” a pocketknife that an officer observed in the center console of the car. Daniels said if Gadson actually tried to fight back and grab the knife, the district attorney wouldn’t have dropped assault charges.

At the news conference, Gadson said he is hurting and that he wants to see all three officers fired and arrested. He said he’s scared of all the officers in the department right now, and that until the three officers who hurt him are suspended, he “will not feel safe in Colorado Springs.”

“They obviously do not understand how badly I was hurt or the position that my mind sits in,” Gadson said. “So we definitely need justice in Colorado Springs and we’re not going to stop until we get justice.”

Gadson said that during the encounter with police he was simply trying to survive.

Daniels also cited a CSPD policy that states officers must issue a verbal warning before using excessive force, which he said the officers in this situation did not. The suit doesn’t seek a specific monetary amount, Daniels said, leaving this decision up to the courts. The lawsuit requests a trial by jury.

The attorneys discussed additional instances when they said Colorado Springs police used excessive force, such as when officers detained a 17-year-old girl and pepper sprayed her in the back of a police car. Bakari Sellers, another one of Gadson’s attorneys, said until the root of police brutality is addressed and officers learn to “treat everybody with the kind of dignity and respect they deserve,” it won’t end and more instances of excessive force will occur.

“I don’t think this lawsuit and everything else is about a few bad apples,” Sellers said. “I actually think Colorado Springs has a bad orchard.”

Sellers said that if someone treated a dog the way officers treated Gadson, they would have been charged in any part of the U.S. He wants to see the officers held accountable with a transparent internal review and court process.

“This is a community that loves and serves and upholds its veterans, or at least we thought they did,” Sellers said. “But to see a veteran with your own eyes be pummeled 20 times, be kicked in the head … What got me was the officer … there was a smirk on his face that said ‘I just beat somebody,’” he added, referring to a photo of Anderson’s bleeding knuckles at the scene.

“It’s hard being Black in America,” Sellers continued. “I never would have thought I would say it’s hard being a Black veteran in America.”

Colorado Springs police previously said an internal affairs investigation relating to the incident is ongoing. The department also said it is standard practice to review officers’ use of force following an incident like the encounter with Gadson. Superiors found the use of force in Gadson’s case “to be within policy.”

Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com. Follow Colorado Newsline on Facebook and Twitter.

The No Taxpayer Funds for Illegal Alien Abortions Act would prohibit U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from using taxpayer dollars to transport any undocumented immigrant across state lines to get an abortion.

“The Biden administration is unlawfully using taxpayer money to transport pregnant, illegal alien children across state lines for late-term abortions,” Boebert said in a news release. “My colleagues and I have introduced bicameral legislation to end these illegal and horrific policies once and for all. Taxpayer money should never fund abortions, whether for citizens or non-citizens. Our priority at the southern border should be security and peace, not death and destruction.”

The Office of Refugee Resettlement issued new guidelines in early November to ensure unaccompanied migrant youth have access to abortion while in ORR shelters or facilities, prioritizing them for placement in shelters in states, such as Colorado, that protect abortion access. It also requires the federal government to pay to transport a minor across state lines if they are initially placed in a state that restricts abortion — this is what prompted Boebert’s proposal. A request for comment from the White House has not yet been returned.

The bill Boebert proposed in the House goes along with a Senate bill sponsored by Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican, of the same name. A spokesperson from Boebert’s office said she plans to introduce the legislation again next session since Congress is wrapping up a lame-duck session and Republicans will take control of the House in January.

Colorado’s advocates for reproductive rights have called Boebert’s bill problematic and racist.

“This cruel and racist proposal is designed to demonize patients and further marginalize a community of people who are already disproportionately impacted by barriers to access,” Adrienne Mansanares, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains said in a statement. “At Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, we do not ask — nor do we care — about someone’s immigration status. We always have and will continue to provide safe, legal reproductive health care and services to anyone who comes through our doors.”

The Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights works specifically to support reproductive health care access for Latinx people and their families, including those coming into Colorado from across the country’s southern border.

“No human being is illegal,” Dusti Gurule, president and CEO of COLOR, said in a statement. “These racist and anti-immigrant attacks towards our community cause violence and harm towards people who should and must receive access to reproductive healthcare, such as abortion, regardless of citizenship status. ... This bill from Rep. Boebert is yet another example of how the Republican Party will stop at nothing to vilify our immigrant community and ignore the will of Colorado voters who support access to abortion for all people.”

Boebert’s proposal is supported by the Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University as well as dozens of other Republicans in Congress. The proposal is based on the Hyde amendment, which is included in the annual government funding bill to prevent the federal government from spending money on abortion, with limited exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the patient.

“The chaos at the southern border has threatened our national sovereignty and resulted in record-high crossings,” Buck said in a news release. “Instead of directing funds to help U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) control the chaos, President Biden is appealing to the Left’s agenda, using taxpayer dollars to fund abortions for illegal migrants. Using ICE and HHS resources to transport pregnant migrants to other states is irresponsible and does nothing but exploit expectant mothers. Congress must take swift legislative action to defend our sovereignty and protect the sanctity of life.”

Other activist groups including New Era Colorado, ProgressNow Colorado and Cobalt have spoken out against the proposal.

“Lauren Boebert almost lost her election because she is completely out of touch with Colorado voters,” Cobalt President Karen Middleton said in a statement. “This is yet another example of someone who is primarily concerned with grandstanding and angertainment, not addressing the needs of her constituents.”

Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com. Follow Colorado Newsline on Facebook and Twitter.