In the coming weeks, nearly 60 volunteers are fanning out all over the city of Durango in a citizens’ initiative petition for a Durango ordinance that prohibits masking of law enforcement officers, requires visible identification, keeps policing local, and returns constitutionality and trust to policing and the people. If this petition receives 1,500 signatures by March 6, it will bring the issue of our safety from “secret police” before the City Council, requiring their approval of the ordinance or forcing a special election.
Before matters get worse, we need to have a conversation about lawless federal police invading Durango. Let’s call that lawless mess of acronyms, DOJ/DHS/ICE/CBP, the “federals.” The best way to have that conversation is to start one that can’t be ignored. A successful petition drive does that. Something terrifying is taking place. We aren’t safe, and staying silent is not safe.
Why a citizen’s initiative? Because traditional legislation is stalled by the federal government’s command to “Shut up and stay out of the way.” Just “Be sweet, pray and obey.” History may not repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme.
Unless we’re throwing out the Constitution, this ordinance is constitutional, and the Constitution is enforceable. We are not surrendering our constitutional rights. Surrender is the opposite of safety. This ordinance aims to keep policing local, the only place we can realistically look for protection. Durango Police adhere to core values of ethics, which are clearly defined and accountable. Police from outside our community have no ties to us, have no care for us and by their presence are a deadly threat to our safety.
Only a true account of this situation can guide our action. That true account is that federal agents are operating like paramilitary forces – lured by money, driven by quotas, masked and armed with military weaponry, busting doors down, ready for confrontation. This scene can unfold in your neighborhood at any moment. Masked agents recruited for aggressive enforcement, sporting the latest in tactical military gear, bearing no accountable identification, harassing at will. All designed to intimidate, create fear, inflict injury and remain secret. Remaining silent about this will cost us our constitutional rights.
What do we do when the true account of what’s happening is being denied, twisted and turned into propaganda and lies? We can’t stop the lying, but we sure don’t feel safer when we’re lied to. To feel safer, we need to fight back, and this ordinance does just that. It’s about protection from the federals more than it is about enforcement against the federals. It is enforceable because protection is a big part of enforcement. Ordinance violations are reportable to the Durango Police. Protecting people does not impede lawful policing and is our most immediate need.
Are We the People going to be sued for exercising our constitutional rights? That’s what federal overreach looks like, and it doesn’t stop until we fight back. We have the right to self-defense, the right to protect others, the right to speak out, the right to be secure in our persons and houses, and to be free from unreasonable seizures of our bodies. We are all struggling with how to protect these constitutional rights amid lawless policing by federal authorities. The federal government argues that exercising our constitutional rights obstructs its ability to deploy a secret police force against us. We cannot accept that argument.
This ordinance, along with other pushback efforts underway, helps protect us, moves the needle and inspires more action. This ordinance isn’t radical – it’s essential. It protects our community while respecting lawful policing.
Ted Wright and Mick Souder are among the organizers for the No Secret Police petition drive in Durango. For more information, visit nosecretpoliceindurango.org.
