Colorado state lawmakers call for investigation after students are removed for being disruptive during session
Some state lawmakers are calling for an investigation after some students were removed for disrupting a legislative session at the Colorado State Capitol earlier this week. The removal happened on the same day that high school students across Colorado joined a nationwide walkout to demand stricter gun control laws.
The Colorado House of Representatives was in session Wednesday when the sound of a teenage girl who was yelling could be heard from the gallery above.
A Sergeant-at-Arms warned the students to stop or face removal. Colorado State Patrol troopers then moved in as could be seen and heard on body-worn camera video that was released on Thursday.
"Step up so we can get her out or you are going to be removed as well. Okay get up let's go," the trooper is heard saying on the video.
One student in the group, with a hand from a trooper, decided to leave, but the one next to him refused. An officer took the boy's arm and pulled him from his seat.
State Rep. Lorena Garcia, a Democrat who represents unincorporated Adams County, ran upstairs to the students. She told CBS News Colorado, "They have no idea what the rules are in the first place and do not deserve to be treated this way."
State Rep. Ryan Armagost, a Republican who represents Larimer and Weld counties said, "There's not allowed to be any noise in the chamber or the gallery during the proceedings even for the members of the General Assembly."
He added the state patrol has always acted with the utmost professionalism within their jurisdiction at the capitol.
While shouting obscenities, the 15-year-old student was carried out of the chamber and then walked out of the building. He was not handcuffed or arrested and was told he would be allowed to return.
Some Democratic representatives have called for an investigation into the handling of the incident. Speaker of the House Julie McCluskie issued a statement, "Students are demanding we act to prevent gun violence, but they shouldn't have to come to the Capitol to protest for their lives. That is the reality they confront as young people in Colorado continue to face gun violence in their schools and in their communities. I am concerned with the response to the protest in the House Gallery. From what we have seen, it was clearly disproportionate to the students' actions."
A spokesman for the Colorado State Patrol told CBS News Colorado that the incident was handled appropriately. Following the airing of the report, the agency released the following prepared statement:
The officers involved in this incident responded based on the actions and behaviors of the individuals they interacted with as they have been trained to do.
The Colorado State Patrol actively scans our interactions with the public for instances of bias and provides regular training to our members to prevent biased-based policing. The officers encouraged the student to move on his own before removal from the House Gallery and then again when he left the Capitol building. No charges or arrests were made against these students.