Trevor Phipps and Rick Langenberg
Over the summer, the sheriffs from Teller and El Paso counties sent a strong message to criminals operating in the Pikes Peak region: If you try to evade law officers by escaping to an adjacent county, you won’t get away.
After an increase in crimes occurring across county lines, the two sheriffs formed a historic partnership last July to improve their ability to fight crime.
In a ceremony held at the border of the two counties, El Paso County Sheriff Joseph Roybal and Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell announced that they would be forming a first of its kind partnership between the two counties by cross deputizing the law enforcement agents.
This process has continued in a rapid fashion.
Since July, the two sheriff departments have held a handful of more ceremonies to deputize every Teller deputy in El Paso County and vice versa. When the first ceremony was held, the sheriffs promised that they would continue swearing in officers from both agencies until all of the deputies were cross-deputized.
At the end of September, the two law enforcement agencies joined forces to conduct a joint patrol of the entire Gold Camp Road and the surrounding areas as a move to strengthen their partnership. “Deputies conducted foot and vehicle movements and employed drones and other technologies during the patrol,” a Teller County Sheriff’s Office social media post stated. “In doing so, they cross leveled techniques and procedures and laid the groundwork for continued patrols and coordination along and around the route.”
One of the main purposes of the joint patrol mission was to increase law enforcement presence in a remote region where the two counties cross. This occurred during a time when many people were in the region recreating during the fall leaf changing season. “The idea was to get out there and establish some operability and integrate some technology like drones to ready us to continue good coordination in the future,” Tommy Allen with the Teller County Sheriff’s Office said. “They were doing an enhanced patrol just to make sure laws were being followed and people were being safe. It was a great opportunity for us to talk to hunters and families. It was an ability for us to come together as one joint entity and go out and engage all of those people while also doing an enhanced patrol for law enforcement.”
Allen said that the two agencies’ plan to strengthen their relationship comes at a time where drug cartels and gangs have been targeting the state. Allen said that drug cartels have told their members specifically to assault law enforcement agents in Colorado, Utah and Arizona.
The Teller sheriff’s office has relationships with other bordering counties including Park County. But for now, the sheriff’s office is working on strengthening their new partnership with El Paso County before they look towards making other similar relationships with other agencies, since the majority of crimes crossing borders occurs between Teller and El Paso Counties.