{"id":49260,"date":"2021-01-15T17:31:15","date_gmt":"2021-01-16T00:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-police-dismayed-after-protesters-show-up-at-health-directors-home\/"},"modified":"2021-01-16T00:31:15","modified_gmt":"2021-01-16T00:31:15","slug":"durango-police-dismayed-after-protesters-show-up-at-health-directors-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-police-dismayed-after-protesters-show-up-at-health-directors-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Durango police dismayed after protesters show up at health director\u2019s home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Liane
Liane Jollon, executive director of San Juan Basin Public Health, was the target of a protest at her home Thursday.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A line has been crossed, local law enforcement says, after nearly 20 people gathered outside the private home of San Juan Basin Public Health Executive Director Liane Jollon to protest public health orders aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis seems to be a disturbing new trend that is not just local here, but in other parts of the state and country as well,\u201d said Durango Police Chief Bob Brammer.<\/p>\n

Officers were called about 12:30 p.m. Thursday to Jollon\u2019s home after a group had gathered to protest.<\/p>\n

Officers approached the crowd, Brammer said, which was loudly expressing its objection to COVID-19 regulations, as well as the actions of SJBPH and specifically Jollon.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Colorado law that people or groups are not allowed to target specific people at their homes, what\u2019s known as \u201ctargeted residential picketing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe practice of targeted residential picketing does not seek to disseminate a message to the general public but, instead, seeks to harass and intrude on the privacy of the targeted resident,\u201d the law says.<\/p>\n

According to the state law, officers must first take people\u2019s names and addresses, and issue a written warning. If an individual is caught again targeting a residence, a citation is written for a misdemeanor with a fine up to $5,000.<\/p>\n

Brammer said officers chose to educate the protesters at Jollon\u2019s house about the state law, rather than issue a written warning.<\/p>\n

\u201cInitially, they thought they were not violating the law,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Brammer said the protesters refused to give their names, but officers have body camera footage of the individuals and license plate numbers, and investigators are in the process of identifying them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the same people return and violate the statute, we would be able to write a summons,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Brammer said the protesters did not return Friday.<\/p>\n

He said the road the group was on is a private road, but it\u2019s not access controlled, so technically, it is public.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was certainly caught off guard yesterday and really feel for my neighbors,\u201d Jollon said.<\/p>\n

Jollon pointed out that public health orders are issued by the state of Colorado, not SJBPH.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike others, I personally don\u2019t love wearing masks, and I miss my spending time with my friends and family, and sure as heck miss eating indoors in restaurants, because I\u2019m a really terrible cook,\u201d she said. \u201cBut this isn\u2019t about me. It is my job is to protect those who may get sick and die.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jollon said that means doing things we might not like doing \u2013 like wearing a mask. She said it also means her job is to make hard decisions to enforce the state orders that are intended to keep people from harm\u2019s way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would be negligent in my role if stood by and let COVID spread rampantly when we know the simple act of wearing a mask saves so many lives,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Durango has seen numerous protests and marches since the pandemic started in March, but for the most part, all of those demonstrations have happened on public spaces.<\/p>\n

The only other instances of protesters picketing outside a public figure\u2019s home were when a group formed twice in the past year outside Mayor Dean Brookie\u2019s house.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is disconcerting,\u201d Brookie said.<\/p>\n

Brookie said what makes the situation more unsettling is the unpredictability of people in a group mentality, and the possibility of the protest getting out of control and potentially violent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat can be very dangerous and the outcome can be unpredictable,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is disturbing in Durango.\u201d<\/p>\n

Local health and law enforcement officials have expressed dismay at the news of protesters outside Jollon\u2019s home.<\/p>\n

Ann Bruzzese, president of the Board of Health for SJBPH, said protesters have every right to express their objections outside the health department\u2019s offices. But it crosses the line showing up at someone\u2019s own home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI personally find it disconcerting that people would go to someone\u2019s private home,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Officials in Southwest Colorado have been on high alert as the potential for protests<\/a>, possibly armed, ramps up in the days leading to the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, the FBI warned that protests are planned in all 50 states in anticipation of Inauguration Day on Wednesday, some of which will likely include armed protesters and could turn violent.<\/p>\n

While the hope is any gatherings remain peaceful, the Durango Police Department and the La Plata County Sheriff\u2019s Office are preparing should the worst-case scenario arise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have a crystal ball, but we are planning for any event that happens to transpire,\u201d Brammer said. \u201cOur main concern is our community. That\u2019s where we\u2019re going to focus our energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

DPD plans to increase patrols around Jollon\u2019s home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a fine line between First Amendment rights and an individual\u2019s right to privacy in their own home,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople should be secure in their homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

jromeo@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018This seems to be a disturbing new trend,\u2019 chief says<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[685,4815,1065,28,29,4259,686],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-49260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-coronavirus-covid-19","tag-dean-brookie","tag-durango-police-department","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter","tag-newsletter-sign-up","tag-san-juan-basin-health-department"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49260"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=49260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}