EPSO: Colorado Springs homeless community tapping into light poles to power TVs and stereos

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - The El Paso County Sheriff's Office (EPSO) says that some people who are homeless have been illegally tapping into I-25 light poles to power recreational household items.

According to the sheriff's office, they have found evidence of people using televisions and stereo equipment below overpasses.

Photos shared by EPSO show what appears to be jumper cables used to tap into one pole.

The sheriff's office says they found one example on Tuesday. EPSO says their department, along with the Colorado Springs Police Department and Colorado Department of Transportation, were working on a restoration project under I-25 north of the Woodmen Road exit.

"It's a safety concern for the whole community, not just the individual who's stealing that power from those light poles," EPC Sgt. Kurk Smith said.

Before their cleanup efforts, EPSO says they posted notices, alerting the people living there that they would need to leave, and they say they were offered support services. Later, EPSO arrived in person and said there was only one person there, and they left voluntarily.

Sgt. Smith adds, "There was a lot of receipts and a lot of activity that led us to believe that there could possibly be some retail theft going on."

At the location, deputies say they found televisions, stereos, but also 20 shopping carts, bicycle frames, and "a significant amount of drug paraphernalia."