News about Mike Johnston

The Denver Police Department has launched a new drone program that will respond to emergency calls instead of officers. The program is expected to start in six to 12 months. Several other police agency's in Colorado have already started using drones to track fleeing suspects, search for missing people, providing overhead surveillance during SWAT operations and mapping crash or crime scenes.

Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak launched an unorthodox recruitment drive earlier this month, and put up a billboard in Denver, Colorado after the city's mayor pulled millions from the police budget. The billboard read: 'Work in Wyoming, where breaking the law is STILL ILLEGAL & cops are funded!' After images of the advertising went viral, Kozak now says he has heard from over 100 prospective hires, including cops from other states outside Colorado looking for a fresh start.

On Wednesday, a group of migrants in Denver created a list of 13 demands that they want the city to meet in order for them to agree to move off the street and into shelters. The city has made it clear that they will continue to offer services to migrants who transition to shelters. The list asked for better food, working permits, privacy, free immigration lawyers, and more.

Denver City Council's Finance and Governance Committee has approved plans to defund the police to pay for the migrant crisis that is costing the democrat-led city about $89.9 million.  The finance committee determined that $41 million in cuts from multiple city departments is needed to house migrants on Tuesday, reported KDVR.  The police department is expected to experience $8.4 million budget cuts, the sheriff's office could see a $3.8 million cut and the fire department is expected to cut $2.4 million. 

The city of Denver has announced plans to defund the police to pay for the migrant crisis as the democrat city strips cops' budget of $8.4 million.  The sanctuary city's progressive Mayor Mike Johnston unveiled a budget proposal on Wednesday, allocating $89.9 million to assist incoming undocumented migrants, whom he refers to as 'newcomers.'  The amount will be drawn from approximately $45 million that's used for public programs and services. 

A Denver city official begged migrant families to migrate to other sanctuary cities such as New York and Chicago, reminding them that a lack of resources in Colorado would cause them to'suffer.' In a clip first posted by 9NEWS, Communications Liaison Andres Carrera urges a group of new arrivals inside a migrant shelter to search for help in other regions. 'The possibilities are over,' Carrera says in Spanish. 'New York tells you more.' More information about Chicago is here. So I recommend you go there for longer-term protection. In addition, there are also increased job opportunities.' According to Mayor Mike Johnston, the overburdened city has been given more than $100 million to support shelter, medical care, and education for asylum seekers. However, the number could rise to $180 million, which is 15 percent of Denver's annual budget, in the midst of the continuing migrant crisis. 'If you stay here, you will suffer even more, and I don't want to see this,' Carerra told the asylum seekers.

On Tuesday, the city initiated a scheme aimed at obtaining reports from landlords on homes that rent for $2,000 per month or less. Last month, Democratic mayor Mike Johnston announced that four new migrant shelters would be closing, saving up to $60 million from the crisis's $180 million estimated cost. The decision by Johnston comes as the number of migrants in shelters has decreased in recent weeks, after it hit a high of 5,200 in mid-January. The city is now housing less than 2,000 residents. We're trying to do more and better at case navigation, which brings people right from shelter options to housing or into employment options for normal travel, and this has been a success for us over the past five weeks,' the mayor said last week. Johnston revealed last month that he would cut $5 million from its Parks and Rec and DMV budgets in 2024 as a result of a staggering $180 million bill to shelter migrants.

During a council meeting on Tuesday, the town of Monument, 45 miles south of Denver, voted 7-0 to announce the new charter, which confirms its status as a non-sanctuary city. According to The Gazette, the town council approved the charter and drafted it in part after reports of migrants arriving in nearby Colorado Springs. Mayor Mitch LaKind said on Fox News, 'The aim is to make sure that Denver knows that we will not be taking bus loads of migrants into our city.'

Between November and January, Struggling UCHealth was given $17 million from other hospitals to assist 5,800 undocumented patients. Medics say this was mostly spent on caring for migrants, if not entirely, because the records covered people who don't have a Social Security number or health insurance and were seeking health care in the United States for the first time. Mayor Mike Johnston of Colorado warns that he would have to cut DMV and Parks & Rec funding 'in the face of the migrant crisis.'

Mayor Mike Johnston said that the $180 million shortfall as a result of the migrant cost would not be the last,' and that's unlikely to be the worst.' In 2024, he made the remarks as the city of Denver is expected to cut $5 million from its Parks and Rec and DMV budgets as a result of a staggering $180 million cost of sheltering migrants. The 38,464 migrants they have had since late 2022 are on the rise every single day, according to city officials. Migrant migrants are often transferred to after entering the United States, with poor southern border policies allowing December to smash the previous record for CBP migrant counts by over 302,000.

Despite the fact that the city is already in danger in terms of funding, the Colorado capital has been flooded with migrants crossing the border. The sanctuary city, which already has 700,000 residents, is struggling to stretch its limited funds - as have many towns, including New York, struggling with the constant challenge of people crossing the southern border.

Since patients received $136 million in medical care they couldn't pay for, the migrant crisis in Denver has pushed the city's largest public hospital into the red. In 2022, Denver Health's loss of $2 million was substantially reduced due to a $20 million cash injection from the state. The hospital system in 2022 lost $35 million, with bosses alerting of 'dire consequences' for the hospital if 2024 is any worse than the previous two. The rise in costs has coincided with the influx of immigrants who crossed America's border and arrived in Denver. So far, over 36,000 people have arrived, many of whom were bused from Texas, with 18,000 deciding to remain. Around 8,000 migrants who came from Central America made around 20,000 visits to the city's health care system, according to Denver Health CEO Donna Lynne. These included trips for dental emergencies, mental health counseling, and childbirth. These patients don't have medical insurance, according to Dr. Taylor McCormick, associate director of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Denver Health.' Several of these visits are expensive, and Denver Health is paying the bill.'

Remi Cordova was 14 years old when he allegedly shot and killed Pamela Cabriales, 32, believing that his car had knocked out the bumper of his friend's vehicle at a red light. The mother of a six-year-old boy, Cabriales, was fired in the head 20 times by a known gang member. A judge ruled in December that he would be tried as an adult, and he appeared in court on Friday. Neshan Johnson, 18, was on the wheel on February 2021 night and was sentenced to 35 years in jail earlier this year.

Mayor Brandon Johnson sluggishly blamed both the Biden Administration and Texas for his city's struggles to care for thousands of refugees. After being bused in from the US-Mexico border, particularly Texas, around 15,000 asylum seekers were crammed into shelters across the region, he said. Johnson revived his rivalry with Texas Governor Greg Abbott, calling his behavior "reckless and risky," but he also moaned about the lack of federal funding.

On Christmas Eve, Colorado Governor Jared Polis delivered the cringeworthy holiday message, complete with questionable dance moves as the crowds bouncing up and down. Without a musical accompaniment, he could not hide how out of tune his singing was as he butchered the 1970 José Feliciano earworm. The police had unfortunate timing as 16 more buses of immigrants arrived from Texas just hours after crossing the US border.