Pubdate: Fri, 13 Dec 2013
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2013 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Sadie Gurman

OFFICERS BARRED FROM OFF-DUTY SECURITY AT POT SHOPS

The Order Is in Effect As Denver Police Watch How the Industry Develops.

When recreational-marijuana shops open Jan. 1, Denver police officers 
will stand outside for crowd control but won't be allowed to step 
inside to provide off-duty security from within.

A departmental order issued this month bars Denver officers from 
moonlighting as security guards at marijuana shops while police 
officials observe how the burgeoning industry develops.

The legalization of recreational marijuana is posing many challenges 
for the police department as it drafts internal policy to deal with 
an industry that is still illegal federally.

"We're going to do everything we can to make sure those businesses 
are safe, but we're not going to work inside those businesses," said 
Sonny Jackson, a department spokesman. "It's a new industry, and 
we're not sure what it's going to entail."

Denver officers earned about $10.6 million dollars between 2009 and 
2012 working off-duty security jobs at venues such as bars, sporting 
events and even many liquor stores. Private businesses pay uniformed 
officers about $45 an hour to stand armed guard, offering a police 
presence without draining on-duty resources. But department policy 
prohibits them from providing off-duty protection to "any 
establishment which constitutes a threat to the status of dignity of 
the police as a professional occupation," including porn stores, 
strip clubs and nuisance bars.

"This restriction prohibits officers from providing security at any 
such location and from providing security for the transportation of 
financial proceeds from any marijuana-related business," the Dec. 6 
memo to all sworn personnel reads. "Officers can expect future 
revisions regarding policies pertaining to marijuana as the laws are 
developed and finalized."

Marijuana shop owners have said officers' training, skills and 
uniforms would be particularly effective in protecting their 
cash-only businesses, which are a prime target for thieves.

"Not only are they trained law enforcement, but they give an air of 
legitimacy to what we are doing," said Norton Arbelaez, an owner of 
the medical-marijuana dispensary River Rock, who inquired about 
hiring officers about four years ago and was denied. "We're drawing a 
fine line between the illegal and the legal market and what better 
way to do that."

Since recreational marijuana was legalized a year ago, marijuana 
advocates have urged the city and state to treat it the same as 
alcohol. Denver has about the same number of marijuana dispensaries 
as liquor stores.

But pot's status as an illegal federal drug and its stigma for some 
continue to make that difficult if not impossible for police.

Until last week, Denver police had no written policy about secondary 
employment at medical-marijuana businesses, but officers never 
provided such security, Jackson said.

State law prohibits law enforcement officers from owning pot shops, 
and the department has a zero-tolerance policy on drug use, including 
marijuana.

The city and its police department are still struggling to decide how 
strictly to enforce laws against public consumption of marijuana. 
Earlier this week, the City Council approved rules banning the 
display or distribution of marijuana on the 16th Street Mall or 
streets around it and in city parks.

Police Chief Robert White promised the City Council that his 
department would revamp its marijuana enforcement training.

In recent marijuana demonstrations, police officers have stood by 
with a hands off approach.

On-duty officers were called on last month to provide cover when 
federal agents raided more than a dozen medical-marijuana businesses, 
investigating possible ties to Colombian drug cartels.

"Can you imagine a Denver cop in full uniform working at a marijuana 
dispensary store when the feds come and serve a search warrant?" 
police union president Nick Rogers said.

The state is under pressure from the federal government to show that 
it is strictly regulating marijuana - in particular, keeping it out 
of the hands of children and criminals.

Without police protection, dispensary owners have relied on private 
security guards, cameras, alarm systems and high-end locks.

"I would hope that the private market would be able to fill this 
void," said Denver Councilman Charlie Brown, who led a council 
committee on recreational marijuana and still has concerns about 
crime and safety at pot shops.

"This is what I call the fear of the unknown," he said.

Police say extra officers will be on hand for crowd and traffic 
control near pot shops opening on Jan. 1.

"If, in fact, a bus shows up with 200 people, there will be a 
presence there," White said.

Michael Elliott, director of the Medical Marijuana Industry Group, 
said police will have to adjust to the new realities surrounding pot.

"These businesses are here, and they're here to stay. Now the police 
department should get on board with how best to protect these 
businesses," he said. "Moonlighting is one additional way to do so."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom