Larimer County sheriff puts focus on transients after woman's death

Saja Hindi
The Coloradoan
Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith

Larimer County's top law enforcement official took to social media at 2 a.m. Friday to lambaste Fort Collins leadership and service providers who "enable and encourage" criminality among transient people and travelers.

Sheriff Justin Smith's post came a day after Fort Collins police announced the arrest of Jeffrey Etheridge, a recently arrived transient man and convicted felon accused of sexually assaulting and killing 23-year-old Heather "Helena" Hoffmann.

"I assure you, it's no coincidence that our community, with a record low unemployment rate, is overrun by intentionally unemployed transients, preying on community members like Helena," Smith wrote. " ...The time for talk is over — as a community, we must demand immediate action to prevent more tragedies like the rape and murder of Helena from occurring again in our communities."

In his 876-word Facebook commentary calling on residents to "band together and demand changes in public policy," Smith stopped short of providing specifics on what he thinks needs to change to quell community unease and diminish criminal behaviors within a segment of Northern Colorado's population.

In a telephone interview later Friday, Smith chided Fort Collins City Council for not taking an active enough role in demanding accountability among service providers to distinguish between those who are down on their luck and those who are transient by choice and come "for the free stuff."

Smith is no stranger to sounding off about homeless and transient issues, after citing an increase in felony filings and reporting that the county jail has seen a spiking proportion of its population — roughly one-third — identify as homeless or transient. But Friday's post was exceptionally scathing of Fort Collins service providers and city leadership.

"We're definitely aware of it; we're definitely on top of it," responded former police officer and Fort Collins City Council member Ray Martinez in an interview. "It's not something we just bring up for discussion once in a while."

Ray Martinez

But for Martinez, more troublesome than the status of the suspect in last week's slaying is that the man is a registered sex offender who is now accused of committing another crime. Etheridge's status as a transient made it harder to track his whereabouts, Martinez added.

Smith made a similar point in his post.

Martinez noted that people commit crimes regardless of race, shelter status or demographic, a point that Homeless Gear Executive Director David Rout also made after news of Etheridge's arrest broke.

Smith, calling out Homeless Gear in particular in an interview with the Coloradoan, said groups, whether established providers or grassroots donors, need a litmus test of sorts that gauges how connected someone is to the community. If someone is merely passing through and looking for handouts, Smith said that person should be denied assistance.

Only then would word get out that Fort Collins is less welcoming, thus deterring travelers, Smith said.

"The City Council needs to take the lead on that with the service providers and say, 'Look, are you helping the problem or adding to it?'" he said.

Rout said in an interview Friday that Homeless Gear already does something similar to what Smith is suggesting. During the intake process for new clients, individuals are asked whether they are Fort Collins residents who are homeless or transient people who are just passing through. That then determines whether those clients can receive supplies.

"One thing I would note that I think is especially important is we manage the Murphy Center, among other programs, and our traffic does not increase at all — it actually decreases slightly in the summer months," Rout said.

Rout points out the center doesn't distribute winter items, such as sleeping bags, year-round.

"I think it is a misnomer to say that people are drawn here because of our social services, and I think that's borne out by the data ... but that doesn't mean that that's not a problem that people are flocking here and it doesn't mean we don't have a role (to play)," he said.

Various factors attract people to Fort Collins, such as its designation as one of the best places to live in the country, Rout said, as well as its location near rural areas that don't necessarily have resources for people who need assistance.

Some of the other programs the agency manages may see an uptick in summer months, but items distributed during street outreach, for example, are not the same "high-value" items that individuals can receive from the center.

"Everything that we do revolves around our community goal to make homelessness rare, short-lived and not recurring," Rout said. "No one is going to escape homelessness if they don't have the means to survive."

Those who are able-bodied and capable aren't owed anything, Smith continued in an interview, admitting that he was taking a "more aggressive" tack because of recent events. He also called for greater leeway on the enforcement of panhandling allowed under the law and a stronger crackdown by Fort Collins police for those who commit less serious crimes — camping and littering, for example.

"We’re certainly not quite on par with Portland and Seattle, but we're heading that direction,” Smith said. "... City Council needs to back their police department when they do these things and not smack their hands when they do."

But for Martinez, a police crackdown on homeless and transient people in the city is not the answer.

"I think it's taking a proactive approach and staying in front of it," Martinez said. "Otherwise, we're just reacting."

That doesn't necessarily mean additional police action, he noted, rather more ambassador-type programs, more partnerships with business community members and continuing some of the work the City Council is already doing by reassessing its ordinances.

Martinez said the council welcomes residents to share their concerns at council meetings, but he warned that City Council doesn't set policies based on emotion or knee-jerk reactions.

Mayor Wade Troxell said after tragedies such as Hoffmann's killing, it's easy to play the "blame game," but he chooses not to go that route.

Wade Troxell

Troxell said he doesn't think the city could have done anything to prevent Hoffmann's death, but echoed Martinez's statement that the City Council has been working to find better ways to address the issues of homelessness and disruptive behaviors.

He said he wants to continue working with the sheriff and Larimer County commissioners on progress toward a mental and behavioral health facility to address some of the concerns.

"It's a tough issue, and Fort Collins is still a wonderful place, and I think our downtown is still a gem and we just need to continue to work for solutions," he said.

Rout said he's glad the sheriff is bringing forward his concerns and the opportunity for discussion.

"We hear the concerns loud and clear. It's a community problem, we are part of the community and we are working as hard as we can to solve (issues of homelessness and disruptive behaviors)," he said.

Still, he warns against doing anything that would jeopardize access to programs for people who need the help and are trying to get out of homelessness.

"I think we have to be careful not to paint with strokes that are too broad because the truth is that we have a large population of people experiencing homelessness working hard to get back on their feet and become productive members of our community," he said.

Reporters Jason Pohl and Saja Hindi cover public safety for the Coloradoan. Follow them on Twitter: @pohl_jason and @BySajaHindi.