Pueblo City Council postpones vigilante opposition proposal

Pueblo City Council decided on Tuesday to postpone a proposal to oppose vigilante tactics in the community.

The move comes on the heels of citizens taking matters into their own hands when it comes to suspected criminals. On May 20, a Pueblo man was chased 15 blocks and tackled to the ground by a group of neighbors. The group said the man raped a girl and exposed himself to another. Police eventually let the man go, saying he was not a suspect.

Members of the American Indian Movement admitted they started the chase, but said they did not partake in tackling the man to the ground.

At Tuesday evening’s council meeting, the American Indian Movement defended its actions. Reddog Rudy with AIM told KRDO NewsChannel 13 that the term “vigilante” was being used to criminalize the group’s actions and that the proposal singled them out.

“I think this is more racism and profiling. Maybe if we weren’t American Indians having to stand up in our community, it would go by. Maybe if we were white, middle class and lived in another neighborhood…maybe the president would be here to pass us a medal.”

Timothy McGettigan also spoke at Tuesday’s meeting. McGettigan recently followed a man suspected of sexually assaulting his daughter. He said police did not respond quick enough and that City Council’s proposal was aimed at covering up the Pueblo Police Department’s shortcomings. McGettigan also said that he supported what AIM does and that City Council’s proposal makes them look like enemies.

“The real enemies are the people who refuse to demand that the police do their jobs properly. There are too many of those people in this city and there’s too many on the City Council,” McGettigan said.

Deputy Chief of Pueblo Police, Andrew McLachlan, told KRDO NewsChannel 13 that police are not against neighborhood watches, but they have to be done in a certain manner.

“We don’t want them to take the law into their own hands,” McLachlan said. “We don’t want them to get hurt if there is a criminal they’re chasing down.”

McLachlan noted that the police department does not have input in the resolution.

After hearing public input, City Council decided to postpone the proposal indefinitely.

The resolution was at the request of Council Member Chris Kaufman. Kaufman also voted to table his own proposal, saying the wording of the proposal was taken out of context.