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January 05, 2022 02:10 PM UTC

DougCo Sheriff Candidate Believes That Within the County, His Power Would Supersede The President's

  • 12 Comments
  • by: Michael Lund

(That’s not how anything works — Promoted by Colorado Pols)

John Anderson, one of four GOP candidates vying to be elected Douglas County Sheriff, announced his support on social media for a model of law enforcement known as constitutional policing, but his rationale for that position aligns with another distinct controversial movement popular in some conservative political circles known as “constitutional sheriffs” which deems the sheriff as the ultimate arbiter and authority in enforcing laws in a county jurisdiction, and which has racist roots in American history.

Anderson claims to have no familiarity with the constitutional sheriff movement, but he agrees with at least part of the organization’s founding principle:

“The law enforcement powers held by the sheriff supersede those of any agent, officer, elected official or employee from any level of government when in the jurisdiction of the county,” reads the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) website.  “The vertical separation of powers in the Constitution makes it clear that the power of the sheriff even supersedes the powers of the President.”

After having that statement from CSPOA read to him and asked if he agrees with it, Anderson assented. He brushed off any suggestion or implication that such a position would be viewed as extremist or “far-right,” saying that distinction was arbitrary.

In an interview with the Colorado Times Recorder, Anderson explained that his support for constitutional policing comes from his fidelity to the U.S. Constitution, specifically in upholding the Second Amendment and other freedoms enumerated in the United States’ Bill of Rights.

Anderson is critical of the current sheriff in Douglas County, Tony Spurlock, and his support for Colorado’s Red Flag Law, a statute passed with bipartisan support by the legislature in 2019 which permits the use of an extreme risk protection order (ERPO), allowing officers to temporarily confiscate firearms from gun owners who have been determined to be a risk to themselves or their community.

Explaining his rationale for campaigning to be sheriff in opposition to current gun laws, Anderson said, “It’s very critical that the sheriff take a stand as who is going to defend our nation because that’s the voice of the people. The voice of the people put in a constitutional sheriff who believes that way — not just says it, but believes it, which I do. Then you are speaking from the power of the people, and that’s who we are. We, the people.”

Anderson also objects to the a legislative statute passed last year allowing local governments to regulate sales, transfers, possession, ownership, and types of firearms.

“Well, I’ll tell you what, the thing I hold dearly and deeply next to my heart is our Constitution, because that sets America apart from this the world, … that’s what has created this great nation,” said Anderson, who retired as a commander with the Castle Rock Police Department. “… And so when I seen our sheriff and his administration support Red Flag, which is definitely unconstitutional and then the Senate Bill 256, which was more gun control. … So, I felt I needed to come out of retirement after a few months and step up and support what I think is the most powerful position in law enforcement in the county, [and that] is the sheriff, and he’s the one — or she is the one — that supports the Constitution of the United States, and they better be. That’s what you swear to, and that’s where I’m coming from.” 

In referencing Colorado’s Red Flag Law and tying his opposition to that statute with his aspirant role of county sheriff, Anderson reflects the position of Douglas County commissioners who — similar to about half of Colorado counties governments — passed a resolution in 2019 declaring the county a Second Amendment sanctuary, which limited enforcement and some operational supports of gun laws.

Gun sanctuary counties assert that their elected county sheriffs need not enforce measures they view as unconstitutional, subscribing to a tenet known as county supremacy, which is now most visible in the national constitutional sheriffs movement.

The constitutional sheriff movement embraces the same founding tenet as another historical, now-defunct entity known as Posse Comitatus which was founded in the 1970’s with ties to the Ku Klux Klan. That group sought to undermine and oppose civil rights laws that members viewed as unconstitutional, using means similar to those ascribed to the constitutional sheriff movement opposing gun laws.

Another contemporary national organization founded in 2011, the CSPOA holds events and organizational meetings, and offers a private membership for interested individuals. Several Colorado sheriffs have attended past meetings of CSPOA.

Anderson has said previously he is not familiar with the constitutional sheriff movement, and he confirmed that assertion in his recent interview.

When asked to name another Colorado sheriff with a similar professional philosophy to his own, Anderson cited Sheriff Steve Reams of Weld County, a figurehead and leader in Colorado’s gun sanctuary movement who was once mistakenly identified as a CSPOA member by this publication.

In his Facebook post from Monday, Anderson frames his fiduciary approach to the sheriff’s role as “community policing.”

In simple terms, constitutional policing is defined as “policing that follows the U.S. Constitution and upholds people’s civil rights.” Often associated with community policing and progressive criminal justice reforms, this law enforcement training is intended to build trust and collaboration between officers and members of the community, ensuring equal and impartial treatment by law enforcement entities.

Under constitutional policing, law enforcement agencies and officers “are beholden to the U.S. Constitution, state constitutions, court decisions, and other federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Constitutional policing operates within the parameters set by those documents, regulations, and court rulings.”

By this definition, Anderson’s contentions of county supremacy and the authority of sheriffs would seem to conflict with the parameters of constitutional policing.

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12 thoughts on “DougCo Sheriff Candidate Believes That Within the County, His Power Would Supersede The President’s”

  1. I happen to know this schmuck personally.

    He’s more competent than DougCo Commissioner Lora Thomas (but, so are any of the dead hamsters my daughter buried in our back yard twenty years ago). He’s also way more dangerous. To call him a complete wacko would be understatement. Fortunately, Castle Rock has had decent Police Chiefs that knew him and kept him in check.

    Like Thomas, this is also his second run for Sheriff. In his last run, he really didn’t do much outreach beyond just speaking before the few fellow wacko groups that would have him; he got almost no Party support. Eight years has not made him any smarter, less dangerous, or more attractive to voters.

    . . . The clown posse down here is nothing, if not persistent — mostly nothing, and clownish. 

    1. (but, so are any of the dead hamsters my daughter buried in our back yard twenty years ago)

      laughlaugh

      It really never fails. These Dunning-Kruger College of Law graduates' crazypants exercises in constitutional interpretation invariably end with them having supreme authority.

  2. I want to see Mr. Anderson’s analysis of the 200 plus years of constitutional case law that interprets the Constitution. I strongly suspect this issue of constitutional sheriffs has been addressed, and probably not to his liking.

    1. One of these days, one of these "constitutional sheriffs" is going to do something that puts them at odds with federal law. I want to hear them tell the federal marshall who comes to arrest them that they are the supreme law and to get lost. We'll see how that works out for them.

       

  3. Which Sheriffs are CSPOA, or aligned with white supremacist, militia, or anti-immigrant groups? Here are three sources to check.

    1 The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) claimed 30 Colorado sheriffs and officers as members or supporters in 2014. John Anderson was not listed, although his predecessor in Dougco, Dave Weaver, was listed. 
    CSPOA  claimed that the Colorado Sheriffs Association had signed on to a CSPOA statement about Second Amendment rights.

    Caveat:The founder of CSPOA, Richard  Mack, is a grifter who has been known to inflate his membership numbers , and some officers listed have denied any affiliation.

    2. The Southern Poverty Law Center follows CSPOA and other right wing law enforcement groups closely. Their 2016 report details right wing acts and statements Sheriffs have made, including two from Colorado I wasn’t aware of: Ronald Bruce and Dennis Spruell.

    3 More recently, the Political Research Associates Group has been compiling and mapping sheriffs who make anti-immigrant or pro-militia statements about how they see their authority ashigher than state or Federal law.

    These “patriots” are not patriots, and do not obey the entire Constitution. (other than the second amendment). Many of them pronably stormed the Capitol, or supported the insurrection. Anderson has plenty of company among the sheriffs in Colorado. Unfortunately.

     

    1. 9News posted a list of Colorado counties with "gun sanctuary" resolutions. saying it was current as of January 2020. Absent protests such as Spurlock's I assume the sheriffs of the county are advocates or at least sympathetic to the idea.

      SPLC Action sent a letter to the chair and ranking member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in May, 2021, asking the letter to be included in the record of hearings. .

      The foundational beliefs of constitutional sheriffs defy this evident concept while also attempting to define their position as constitutional discipleship. They believe that laws passed down from the federal, state, or city government are only enforceable when the sheriff interprets them as constitutional. Mack has stated publicly, in a May 3, 2020 video circulated on YouTube, that in addition to the federal government, sheriffs can tell the chief of police, city council, and the town/city manager what to do.

      Examples of the doctrine's impacts include 2nd Amendment issues, Covid-19 pandemic orders, and Bureau of Land Management regulations. SPLC shows links between these sheriffs and various militias, such as Oathkeepers, III%ers, and Boogaloo Boys.

    2. “Anti-immigrant” and “pro militia” are vastly different issues and should not be combined.

      People can have legitimate concerns about border security and not be a far right winger.

      1. Anti-immigration and pro-militia ideas are both parts of the agenda and talking points of far right groups, along with anti- mask, anti-vax,anti Federal control of public lands, and the Big Lie. 
        Scary brown people at the border or taking over your town are the “threat” the pro-militia groups want you to arm up against.so these issues are related- not conflated.

      2. I agree with CHB, Anti-Immigrant is not the same as pro-militia. Anti-immigrant is primarily a racist philosophy – See Replacement Theory. Pro-militia is about gun-right advocacy, and dominance macho-posturing.

        It is true that conservative angst about loss of status and privilege, also has a lot to do with Racism. So, yes there are psychological and philosophical linkages between Anti-Immigrant and Pro-Militia.

        I do also agree with KWT that Conservatives in the US are seeking power by pushing a grab bag of emotionally charged issues, of which anti-immigrant and violent militia rhetoric are two.

        In any case, immigration in the US has always been a source of cultural strength and economic growth.  Slowing birth rates in this century make it important to encourage increased immigration, if only for economic reasons.

    1. My favorite sheriff oddball is in Colorado law: the county coroner is the only one with the power to arrest the sheriff.

      A string of DAs have told me that. Nobody seems to know why.

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