‘Rabid' rangers or a routine traffic stop?

Pitkin County Commissioner Patti Clapper and her daughter Traci are teaming to try to stop what they claim are overbearing tactics by “rabid rangers” in the U.S. Forest Service. Traci, 20, is seeking a written apology from the Forest Service's law enforcement branch for what she considers an illegal search and seizure on Highway 82 up Independence Pass last Labor Day weekend. Clapper said there is a “bigger issue” that needs to be investigated regarding the conduct of Forest Service law enforcement officers' actions around Aspen. She estimated she has heard of 20 incidents where young adults and their property were searched under allegedly questionable circumstances. Forest Service officials said they haven't received other complaints about their law officers. “A lot of things have happened to the kids in the community,” Clapper said. She questioned if the Forest Service officers who stopped her daughter had the authority to pull her over on Highway 82, a state road. Two spokesmen for the Colorado State Patrol's public information office in Denver said the Forest Service could well contend jurisdiction on a state highway that goes through a national forest. There are numerous cases where police in a municipality or county have authority on a state road where it travels through their jurisdiction, the troopers noted. Any challenge to venue would need to be made in court, the troopers said...read more