Boulder Elk Killers in Court

A pair of former Boulder police officers accused of planning and carrying out the New Year's Day shooting and disposal of a trophy elk on Mapleton Hill were formally charged this afternoon with four felonies and five misdemeanors apiece in the case.
   Sam Carter, 35, and Brent Curnow, 38, who resigned from the Boulder Police Department last month, appeared before Judge Noel Blum at the Boulder County Jail's courtroom today for their first court appearance in the case, which has drawn considerable outrage from the community.
   Both men were charged with two counts of tampering with physical evidence, a Class 6 felony, one count of forgery, a Class 5 felony, and one count of attempting to influence a public official, a Class 4 felony.
   Additionally, Carter and Curnow were charged with first-degree official misconduct, illegal possession of a trophy elk with a Samson Law surcharge, conspiracy to commit illegal possession of wildlife, unlawfully taking a big game animal out of season and unlawful use of an electronic communication device to unlawfully take wildlife. Those five charges are all misdemeanors.
  The duo, who were arrested Jan. 18 and released on $20,000 personal recognizance bonds, both appeared under advisement of private legal counsel.

Police Arrested for Killing Elk

After almost three weeks of investigation and community unrest, two Boulder police officers were arrested Friday on nine charges -- including three felonies -- in the shooting and disposing of an elk in the Mapleton Hill area after investigators say texts between the officers revealed officers planned the trophy kill almost a day in advance of the actual shooting.
  Boulder police officers Sam Curnow, 35, and Brent Curnow, 38, turned themselves into the Boulder County Jail Friday morning and were booked on suspicion of forgery, tampering with physical evidence, attempting to influence a public official -- all felonies -- as well as unlawful taking of a trophy elk, conspiracy, a Samson surcharge, killing an elk out of season, unlawful use of an electronic device to unlawfully take wildlife and first degree official misconduct -- all misdemeanors.
  Carter and Curnow could face prison time and the loss of their official police certification. Both men were released on $20,000 personal recognizance bonds, and a formal filing of charges could happen as soon as January 23, according to Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett.
  "Over the last two-and-a-half weeks, my lawyers, investigators and staff have worked closely with the excellent investigators of Colorado Parks and Wildlife to make sure that no stone was left unturned in determining what happened here," Garnett said.
  According to an affidavit, Carter told police the day after the shooting that he encountered an elk while on patrol near Mapleton Avenue and Ninth Street late Jan. 1 that he said was injured and needed to be put down. Carter then shot the animal with a shotgun, and Curnow -- who was off-duty -- came to pick up the carcass with the help of an on-duty Boulder County sheriff's deputy, identified as Jeff George.
  Carter did not report the incident or notify his supervisors he fired his weapon that night, though he told investigators he called in the incident and did not know why dispatch did not have any record of it, according to the affidavit.
  But according to an arrest affidavit, cell phone records obtained from phone carriers for Carter, Curnow and George show the shooting was premeditated. In the texts, Carter can be seen referring to the elk as early as 2:56 a.m. Jan. 1 -- almost 20 hours before the shooting.
  Carter also applied for a road kill permit for the elk with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, saying the elk had broken an antler off, while investigators believe Curnow had sawed the antler off.
During the investigation, no neighbors who saw the elk in the hours leading up to the shooting noticed it was injured and also said it never appeared to be aggressive. In addition, a necropsy of the elk performed at Colorado State University found no signs of any significant trauma, and investigators never found evidence of a car strike at the scene.
  In addition to the criminal investigation, the Boulder Police Department is conducting an internal personnel investigation into Carter and Curnow. They had both been on paid leave, but Boulder police Chief Mark Beckner said in light of the charges he was now placing them on unpaid administrative leave.
  "Boulder police fully supports the decision of the District Attorney's Office," Beckner said. "It's the right decision."
  Beckner said the personnel investigation will still take a couple weeks, but did add the consequences for the type of untruthfulness depicted in the affidavit would, "typically be termination from employment."
  "I think the affidavit speaks for itself," Beckner said.
  At the moment, George is not facing any criminal charges, according to Garnett, though that could change if more evidence comes to light.
  "Certainly, on a case like this, the various investigations will continue and if the state of the evidence changes we will reevaluate," Garnett said.
  Boulder Sheriff Joe Pelle said George never denied texting Carter about killing the elk, and thought Carter had been told by Boulder police to put the elk down.
  "His story from the very beginning was that he knew Carter was looking for the elk," Pelle said. "The text messages don't change the presumption of innocence or guilt." But Pelle said George is still subject to an internal probe, though he has not been suspended from duty.
  "We're still unhappy we were involved in this at all," Pelle said. "At a very minimum, the deputy wasn't where he was supposed to be or doing what he was supposed to be."
  Friday's arrest comes after a tumultuous few weeks, as residents of Mapleton neighborhood where the elk was often seen expressed outrage over the shooting. The elk's death sparked everything from vigils and marches to Twitter accounts and even a ballad.
  Jennifer Churchill, the spokeswoman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said the investigation took time due to the enormous amount of interviews and electronic evidence to go through. "We take wildlife crime allegations very seriously," said Churchill. "We really appreciate the public's patience with this."

Edward Elk (Final); Roll, Tide!

I was a little disappointed in the Gentle Giants episode last night - there was some good footage of the Jackson Fork Ranch Percherons pulling their aubergine wagon in a six-horse-hitch - but the episode seemed mostly concerned with the conservation of Little Jackson Hole by the ranch owner and the owner's bison meat concern, rather than the Percherons themselves. But it was great to see the horses, and I hadn't realized that the champion six-horse-hitch was all mares. The owner of the ranch is joining forces with Windermere Percherons in Pennsylvania for a breeding program - it will be interesting to see the results!
  I'm going to write a bit more about the killing of Edward the Elk today; then, I'll only post updates about the investigations into his death. According to the Boulder Chief of Police, officer Sam Carter told the home owners on Mapleton Hill that he was going to "try to get rid of an aggressive wild animal" and not to be worried if they heard a shot; Carter shot and killed the elk the yard, using his police service-issued shotgun; Carter did not report to anyone, anywhere, in law enforcement or Department of Wildlife of the Fish and Game Commission that he had killed the elk. Officer Brent Curlew had been scheduled to work that Tuesday night, but called in sick. He is the off-duty BPD officer who brought his truck to the site of the elk's demise; he is also a licensed taxidermist, and has a web page stating that he does a "great job at affordable prices." The sheriff's officer who assisted in loading the elk into the truck received a phone call on his personal cell phone requesting his assistance to load the elk. Normally, a county sheriff's deputy would not be patrolling or working inside the Boulder city limits. Sam Carter called in sick the day/night after he killed the elk. The Boulder Police Chief said that if "either employee needs to be fired, be assured, he will be fired." Boulder Mayor Matt Applebaum asked if there would be a change in the BPD's protocol regarding injured wildlife. What Chief Mark Beckner said regarding his officers chilled me to the bone: "If they want to shoot something, protocol is not going to stop them." Doesn't that sound as if we all really do live in a gun-crazed society? - Please don't get me wrong. I'm not anti-gun; I know a lot of people who are responsible gun owners and hunters. I just found that single sentence a frightening perspective of our city, county, state, and country today...
   The Crimson Tide rolled last night... Three national championships in four years... Not bad, 'Bama!

Elk Vigil; Unexplained Weight Gain

More than 200 people showed up for a candle light vigil last night that celebrated the life of Edward the Elk; they sang "Amazing Grace" and decorated one of the fir trees that Edward slept under with white lights and a lot of small elk. Some of the elk were hand drawn and colored, some were made of felt, some crocheted, some were hand carved figurines and some were made of china, plastic, or metal. It was a fitting and emotional tribute to a bull elk who had made Mapleton Hill his home for the past 10 winters. The law officers who were involved in his killing and butchery are under investigation. Farewell, Edward!
  I should know better than to really want a team to win - it causes such let downs when your expectations are not met. From the four wild card playoff games, only the Packers were able to defeat their opponents. Next weekend, the Broncos will play the Ravens here at home (we beat them by 18 points in Baltimore in week 15).
  Both Lovey and Nedi slept on top of me most of the night - Nedi moved when I accidentally coughed in his ear, but he just moved down by my knees instead of being up by my shoulder. Lovey stayed snuggled tight all night long. Turns out I'm off to stay with Aiko and Yoshi until Thursday afternoon, with this bronchitis, at least I don't have to exert myself too much in caring for them. Rosie and Remy both gained 5 pounds while their family was gone, and yesterday Joel found an empty bag of Chef Michael's dog food in the back yard. All I can think of is that last week, a lady and her two kids commented on how "skinny" Rosie and Remy were when I was walking them; I explained that they were hounds and should have a herring gut, not a straight bottom line. The lady had said they were just "visiting" and had walked along with us back to the house. That night, between 6:30 and 7, Rosie started barking and ran outside; Remy joined her, and they stayed out for about 15 minutes. This happened 6 nights in a row, and when the Rs came back in, they both drank a lot of water. I wonder if this lady and her kids came back and fed the "poor, skinny" dogs....
  My friend Michele in Wisconsin told me about the new RFD TV show called "Gentle Giants" - it's on at 5:30 here in Colorado - and I'm looking forward to seeing it tonight. The folks and camera crew travel the US, visiting draught (oops! draft) horses and working mules - I can't wait! Have a good week!

Sunday Stuff

I talked with my friend Carolyn in Vero Beach this morning - we traded coughs at each other - she had this upper respiratory infection and bronchitis starting the week before Christmas, and she's still coughing.... We got caught up on family news and giggled over the past and laid out a few plans for the future, including a shared trip up to Chincoteague. It was good to hear the voice of a childhood friend! We're as close as most sisters, and she (along with her husband, Greg) always makes me feel loved and secure (even if we're griping about the cost of cable TV or whatever). It was good to be able to talk and relax and laugh - and cough - with her. I had to admit that I had forgotten the name of Amy, her orange female tabby - I knew her name was short and started with an A, but I couldn't have said Amy to save my life... The problems of having too much stuff in one's brain, I think.
  I figured the Texans would win over the Bengals yesterday, and I was happy to see the Packers prevail over the Vikings. Now we have today's games: Colts and Ravens, then the Seahawks and Redskins. I'm rooting for RGIII, Shanahan, and the 'Skins. Lovey and Nedi curled up with me and spent all night with some portion of their anatomy touching me - even though I was having fever and chills and kept tossing the covers on and off. Lovey is currently in the reading chair, while Nedi is sprawled on the patio, soaking up sunshine. Friday was the first time since Christmas Eve that we achieved a temperature above freezing - it was in the low 40s yesterday, and is supposed to be thereabouts for the next week. We're having a heat wave! And I love it! Warmth, warmth, give me warmth! I was going to be at home all this week, but it looks as if I'll be at Aiko and Yoshi's for 3 nights this week. Then I'll be at home until the 17th.
  The Mapleton Hill community is holding a candlelight vigil for Edward the Elk this evening. The majority of people in Boulder love their pets, furry friends, and wildlife to an extreme - that's how I make my living, after all - and, while there are also those black-hearted knaves around who dislike anything other than humans, luckily they are a minority. If I didn't have this bronchitis, I'd be there to pay my respects.

Coyote Bites Jogger; Edward the Elk

Reports have been growing about the number and tameness of the coyotes who live along the eastern part of the Boulder Creek Path - about a mile east of my apartment.  Last week there were several reports of coyotes chasing joggers and bikers along the Path, two days ago, one coyote bit a jogger in the calf of his leg.  The coyote has not been caught, and the jogger will undergo rabies shots as a precautionary measure.  I think maybe the Boulder Police Department should send officer Sam Carter over that way, since he was such a wonderful shot in killing Edward the elk on Mapleton Hill.  The coyote that bit the jogger on the leg is more of a danger to people and society than Edward, a neighborhood mascot, was.  I don't really like to see any animal killed unless there's a really good reason.  If the creature is a livestock killer in fields and pastures, it should be destroyed.  If it's a bear or mountain lion that has lost it's fear of people, it's better that the wild thing is "put down", for it is no longer truly wild.  If a coyote along a heavily used paved pathway is chasing and biting humans that are passing by, it, too, should be destroyed. (I have personally seen small children playing on roll-along bikes and trikes on that area of the BCP.)  If a wild animal is damaged irreparably, and cannot survive in the wild on it's own, it should be (considering the circumstances) put out of its misery, or taken to a wildlife rehabilitation center.  If a wild animal has lost its fear of man and is causing havoc by eating livestock and pets, or chasing people, or attacking a person without provocation, it should be put down. I would support whomever put that animal cleanly and neatly.
   The people who live on Mapleton Hill are, very rightly, upset about the killing of Edward the elk, or "Big Boy", as he was frequently called.  According to the home-owners where he was killed, he was acting normally, and was grazing in the front yard as usual, when officer Sam Carter knocked on their door s little before midnight and told them not to panic if they heard a gunshot.  The home-owners had no idea the officer was referring to killing the elk, who was 50 feet away, grazing in a corner.  This police officer did not tell his commanding officer, supervisor, or dispatch anything about the elk, or about firing his service shotgun, until the home-owners had provided the local newspaper and two TV stations with photos. It also seems highly suspicious that within 30 minutes of the shooting, an off-duty sheriff's deputy and two other men showed up with a pick-up that had a camper shell on the back, and they placed the carcass of the elk inside and drove off to butcher it. Sounds like it was planned to me.   In any event, the local Police, Sheriff, and the Department of Wildlife are each making their own investigation.  Then there's the fact that a shotgun was fired within Boulder city limits to bring down an apparently uninjured trophy elk....  Naughty, naughty!

Edward Elk (aka Big Boy on FB) Update

The Boulder Police Department has now said that one of their on-duty police officers shot and killed Edward the Elk with a shotgun Tuesday night.  The officer, identified in  a local home-owner's enlarged photo, as S. Carter posed with the elk and then called another off-duty officer, who loaded the elk's body into a pickup truck and took it off to hang and butcher as game.  The on-duty officer did not tell his supervisor that he had shot the elk, which is why the Boulder PD denied knowledge of the act.  The officer now claims that he had watched the elk moving about in the neighborhood, and had made the decision that it was injured and needed to be put out of it's misery.
    Edward had returned to the Mapleton Hill area where he was killed every winter for the past 10 years - the neighborhood was used to his presence, and he was used to the people, dogs, and traffic.  Several points of one horn had been broken off while fighting other bull elk this year, but those were the only things the usual neighbors noted about the elk's appearance. S. Carter apparently reported that the elk was limping, and that was what he based his decision upon.  (Heck, I don't want that officer around our neighborhood!  Old Tripod, the 10-point buck, would be shot by him immediately.  Tripod had a hind-leg broken when he was 2 years old; it didn't heal correctly, and it dangles as a much shorter leg than the others.  Tripod leaps and runs and jumps fences with ease, so there's no need to shoot him.)
  The Department of Wildlife is investigating this killing, as Edward qualified as a "trophy specimen" along with the fact he was killed within the city limits.  There could be a fine levied of up to $10,000 and jail time might also be recommended.  At least his body is being processed for consumption,  It would be a terrible shame to waste that magnificent animal's life...  But that doesn't replace the annual winter visits of Edward the Elk to his neighborhood haunts on Mapleton Hill.

Boulder police officer S. Carter poses with Edward after killing him.

RIP, Edward Elk

Edward Elk, alive and well last week.  Photo taken in back yard of house at 10th Street and Mapleton Avenue, Boulder.

Edward at 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday, 2 January 2013.  No one will claim responsibility for the killing of this bull elk within the city of Boulder.

"Strange" News

I realize that with the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, and iPhones, dissemination of information is almost instantaneous these days.  Some of the stories that come out of this fast, world-wide mish-mash are intriguing...  There are several that have recently caught my attention.  The first and foremost has happened here in Boulder, Colorado.  Who murdered Edward Elk on Mapleton Hill? Edward was a large bull elk - a superb trophy specimen - that has been living for the past couple of months between 9th and 11th Streets on Mapleton Avenue.  The area is also known as historic Mapleton Hill. Last week, Edward was reported to have kept a US Postal Service person trapped on the front porch of a house for several minutes; he was unafraid of the PO worker, who shouted and shook his mail bag at the elk. Over the weekend, Edward held his ground and refused to run from a police car with flashing lights and a siren - he was blocking an intersection at Mapleton Avenue and 10th Street.  A local resident let his dog out into the back yard for a late night "pit-stop" and had to go outside to retrieve his dog because Edward was in the back yard, and the dog wanted to bark at him. The home owner said that Edward was not afraid of him at all and would not leave; he finally convinced his dog to re-enter the house without harm.  Tuesday night, residents in the area reported the presence of multiple police cars with their lights flashing.  The resident whose dog barked at Edward says that a uniformed officer said they were going to try to "convince the elk to leave the area" and not to worry if he heard gunshots.  The home owner heard one gunshot. The following morning, Edward was found dead at the edge of his yard.  The really strange thing about this is that neither the Boulder Police, the Boulder Sheriff's Office, nor the Colorado Department of Wildlife have any record of any activities that night regarding the elk.  So the big question is who done it, and why?  The Department of Wildlife is conducting an investigation into Edward's suspicious death.
  The other things that caught my eye concerned naked men.  In Miami, Florida a man was arrested in a home-owners back yard because the man was totally naked and choking the home owner's Rottweiler with his bare hands. The home owner heard a disturbance in his back yard , looked out and observed the naked man choking his dog.  When the owner yelled at the man, the attacker started growling and lunged at the owner, trying to bite him.  When the police arrived, the naked suspect attacked them and tried to bite them also.  He was shot twice in the leg before police could subdue him.  I had to laugh at the final sentence of the report: It is thought the suspect was under the effect of an unknown drug.
  Then in San Jose, California, a naked man with a Samurai sword was threatening folks at a light rail station - this after he was seen clothed and with an AK-15 assault rifle in from a a residence nearby.  Police responded to the assault-rifle report, and then quickly determined that the same, but now naked, man was at the light rail station waving a Samurai sword.  There was a large group of media present when, after more than 2 hours of stand off, the man attempted to climb a fence and run.  The police were easily able to catch the man and place him under arrest.
   Yesterday at a Catholic church in Connecticut, a naked man suddenly appeared before parishioners and a third-grade parochial school class.  He, also, was arrested, but very quickly.  A witness told police that the man appeared very quickly, and that it was frightening even for an adult.
    What the heck is going on here?  Why are naked men doing stupid things?  Again, I realize that the way our world has changed in spreading news is one of the main reasons so many stupid news stories make it around the world. Used to be, things about naked men or women appearing in public were never spoken about; now it seems it's almost a daily happening....