Embarrassing

I am so embarrassed for my town of Carbondale. Our Kroger market has not been able to apologize to Michael Francisco for overreacting on Christmas Eve, when Michael’s masked greeting to an attendant was mistaken for a grimace. 

Kroger called the police to have Michael thrown to the ground and handcuffed. 

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The town’s prosecutor can’t apologize to Michael or even drop the charges because Kroger can’t bring an actionable complaint against him, and yet he must have done something to deserve being thrown to the ground and handcuffed. 

And, of course, the police can’t apologize until the prosecutor tells them that they threw Michael on the ground for no good reason. Of course, the police could not tell Michael why they needed his ID (a state requirement) because they didn’t know. They were only doing as they’re told — told to get him to leave the City Market as he was checking out.  

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Silly us.

Citing Colorado statute:

There are two clear events for which Colorado Law Enforcement can require carrying and producing your Colorado ID and thus demand identification. They are:

(1) if you are driving a vehicle and you are stopped by the police.

(2) if you are a passenger on a commercial airline.

John Hoffmann

Carbondale