Colorado’s top cop just declared war on cops

In a state already reeling from crime, fentanyl deaths, and a collapsing trust in public safety, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has decided the real threat is a sheriff’s deputy who pulled someone over for tailgating.

This isn’t satire. It’s Weiser’s latest political stunt: a lawsuit against Mesa County Deputy Alexander Zwinck, who made the mistake of doing his job. His “crime”? Sharing basic information with federal immigration authorities after a routine traffic stop revealed the driver was a Brazilian national with an expired visa.

Weiser’s office calls that a civil rights violation. Normal people call it law enforcement...

Unfortunately, there is a cost to every officer in Colorado. With this stunt, Weiser has made it clear: follow federal law at your own peril. Do your job, and you might be next. The message to law enforcement is unmistakable if you don't fit with his political ideologies...

Worse yet, Weiser knows exactly what he’s doing. Zwinck isn’t just any deputy -- he’s part of the Western Colorado Drug Task Force, a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program that exists specifically to facilitate coordination between state, local, and federal officers. That includes Homeland Security Investigations agents who enforce both drug and immigration laws. For Weiser to pretend that this coordination was rogue or illegal is dishonest at best, malicious at worst.

Let’s not forget who the driver was either: not a U.S. citizen, not a minor traffic offender, but a foreign national who had overstayed her visa and violating federal law. In any sane world, notifying immigration authorities would be considered common sense. Under Phil Weiser’s regime, it’s a punishable offense...