UPDATE: New arrest warrant issued for Douglas Bruce

TABOR author and former state lawmaker Douglas Bruce is accused of assault in an incident earlier this month at a Denver courthouse.

A warrant for his arrest was issued on April 19.

The warrant stems from an April 10 incident that was caught on video. You can view the video at the bottom of this article.

The video, which was posted on YouTube by an organization called Colorado Springs Government Watch, shows Bruce walking down a hallway with Colorado Springs City Councilwoman Helen Collins.

Collins accompanied Bruce to court after he was accused of violating his probation following a 2012 conviction for tax evasion.

In the YouTube video, Collins is asked why she’s in court with Bruce, to which she replies “Because Douglas Bruce is my friend.”

In the video, Colorado Springs Government Watch Director Dede Laugesen was trying to ask Collins about two condemned properties she owns in Kansas City.

The incident that led to the arrest warrant comes at the end of the video when Bruce appears to try to grab the camera out of Laugesen’s hands.

“He was very violent and very volatile and I was definitely afraid,” said Laugesen.

Collins is accused offailing to pay two water billsfor apartment buildings she owns in Kansas City, Missouri. She is also accused of not attending to 17 violations against the buildings issued by inspectors. Two tenants said they got a call several months ago from Bruce, who told them the property manager had been a scammer and they should send their rent checks to Bruce. The tenants said they asked for additional documents to prove Bruce was the proper recipient but never heard back.

Laugesen said she was ignoring Bruce and only directing her questions at Collins. She said Bruce is a “bully” who didn’t like being “ignored” that day.

“The look in his eyes, he was going to strike me with my phone and it’s as if something registered and he determined not to do that and shoved the phone back into my hand,” said Laugesen.

Laugesen said his actions needed to be addressed and that’s why she moved forward with notifying law enforcement of the incident.

“He struck out and attacked the wrong woman. I am not a victim,” said Laugesen.

Bruce, of Colorado Springs, authored the Tax Payers Bill of Rights, or TABOR. Voters approved TABOR in Colorado Springs in 1991. It passed state-wide in 1992.

According to the Colorado Department of the Treasury, TABOR forbids state and local governments from raising taxes without voter approval. It also prevents them from spending revenue collected under existing tax rates if revenue grows faster than the rate of inflation and population growth, without voter approval.

Bruce later served as an El Paso County Commissioner and House District 15 representative. District 15 covers the east side of Colorado Springs.

Bruce was censured in 2008 after kicking a newspaper photographer for taking a picture during a prayer at the capitol. Bruce also faced a backlash during his time at the capitol for calling Mexican workers “illiterate peasants.”

Last week, an arrest warrant was issued for Bruce out of Cleveland, Ohio where he is accused of owing back property taxes and housing code violations.

Bruce has said that he believes that Colorado Springs mayoral candidate John Suthers is responsible for his recent legal troubles. “Someone dropped a dime, I can’t prove it was Mr. Suthers personally, to get a violation of probation hearing to further discredit me. Why? Because Suthers and the new members of council want to propose a tax increase and they want me out of the way. It’s crystal clear,” Bruce said.

Suthers denied the accusation saying Bruce is incapable of taking responsibility for his own actions.

Meanwhile, Collins, who survived a recall election earlier this month, faces her own legal troubles. Those troubles may involve Bruce.

Collins has until April 24 to respond to an ethics complaint that was filed against her. In that case, she is accused of participating in a real estate deal with Bruce that helped him avoid paying a court judgment to the city. Collins has said that the complaint is without merit.

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