Drug raid in Aspen stirs pot

Pitkin County sheriff wasn't informed of plan

Ellen Miller, Special to the News

Published December 8, 2005 at midnight

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A dramatic drug bust at two Aspen restaurants busy with the après ski crowd has created a rift between the two major law enforcement agencies at one of Colorado's premier ski resort towns.

Fifty-three officers from a number of law enforcement agencies, some with guns drawn, stormed into two Aspen restaurants during the busy after-ski time last Friday.

The raids happened shortly after 4 p.m. and netted about 2 ounces of cocaine, $3,000 in cash, nine arrests for drug involvement and 11 for immigration law violations.

Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis, an opponent of the "war on drugs" who believes education and treatment are better answers to drug abuse, didn't know about the raid until after the fact, even though his jail was packed to overflowing.

"The sheriff should have been informed and the police chief has rightly apologized,'' Aspen Mayor Helen Klanderud said Wednesday. "It's extremely important that the agencies cooperate and have a positive relationship.''

Late Wednesday afternoon, Braudis remained in a closed-door meeting with Police Chief Loren Ryerson and City Manager Steve Barwick. None returned phone calls for comment.

The city manager scheduled a special work session Jan. 17 for the City Council to discuss the raid and the town's police policy regarding drugs.

"Our paramount concern is the safety and well-being of visitors and citizens of Aspen," Klanderud said. "Our police are not to do undercover investigations or use paid informants. We need to get all the facts of what happened here."

On the other hand, Klanderud said, the city policy requires police to cooperate with other law enforcement agencies in drug investigations.

Ryerson told the Aspen Daily News that the sheriff's views on drug enforcement played a factor in Ryerson's decision not to tell the sheriff about the raids. But he repeated Tuesday that he made a mistake by not informing Braudis in advance.

The newspaper also quoted Ryerson as saying guns were drawn by some officers during the raid.

The raid was carried out by officers from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Colorado Department of Revenue and police from Aspen and Snowmass Village, according to law enforcement news releases.

It was DEA agents who did the undercover work, Ryerson told the Aspen Times.

Braudis has long called for the legalization of drugs, calling the war on drugs a failure and saying addicts should see doctors, not go to prison.

Councilman Torre, who goes by only one name, said it was good that the sheriff and police chief "are trying to mend fences."

"But the city doesn't support undercover work, and our police department doesn't," Torre said. "It's a matter of community trust and public safety, and we believe in education and treatment as more effective with drugs. It's not necessarily done with a bust, but to intervene."

The controversy is the talk of the town, said Councilwoman Rachael Richards.

"The city does not turn a blind eye to drug activity," she said. "And we as a council certainly aren't told of these things in advance. But there seemed to be a risk factor with these tactics and so many innocent bystanders."

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