Harassment increasing in downtown Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs police said they’re receiving more reports about and issuing more citations this year for strangers harassing downtown visitors.
Police said the violators are a combination of the homeless, panhandlers and people who loiter on downtown sidewalks and corners for a variety of other reasons.
“They are just in the downtown area because they have chosen to do (harassment),” said Sgt. Mike Spitzmiller of the police department’s Downtown Area Response Team.
Michelle Conner of Calhan said she and her husband had the worst downtown experience they’ve ever had, last weekend on a block on Tejon Street.
“We were harassed by three separate individuals,” she said. “They were sitting in the middle of the sidewalk. We had to walk around them. They cussed at us as we were leaving. One of the guys asked me for a hug and when I ignored him, the girl he was with asked if she could touch my husband’s butt. “
Conner said the same group harassed an older couple ahead of her and her husband.
“We go downtown every weekend,” she said. “But we feel like their behavior is getting a little more obnoxious. It’s to the point that I wouldn’t go downtown by myself.”
William Wiggins, a homeless man, said the harassment gives other homeless people a bad name because most people already assume the homeless are guilty of the behavior.
But he also says he understands the reasons behind it.
“Some of them really don’t care about life,” Wiggins said. “They don’t care what they say or who they hurt. But it’s not all them. I hear negative comments from the people who come downtown, too. We’re all the same. I think more kind words are what both sides need.”
Roberto Williamson, one of the downtown patrol officers, said the situation worries business owners who fear that harassment scares customers away.
“Many times we hear about harassment second-hand and it doesn’t get reported,” he said. “Some people think it’s just something they have to put up with, and it’s not.”
Police plan to open a downtown substation early next year, to create a more visible presence to help visitors and discourage harassment. Police currently have four officers during the day and six at night patrolling the entertainment district.
“We can’t promise we’ll have somebody there immediately,” Spitzmiller said. “We can’t be everywhere at once. But it should help.”
Harassment is a misdemeanor with a maximum punishment of 90 days in jail or a fine of $1,000.
