Campus rifle arrest of repeat offender draws sharp rebuke of Dems from GOP lawmaker
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After a repeat offender was discovered on a college campus with a rifle, Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colo., slammed Democratic leaders in Colorado for “devastating law enforcement morale” by what he described as siding with illegals and criminals above police and federal officials.
Ephraim Debisa, a 21-year-old reported refugee from Tanzania, was arrested again last week for unlawful possession of a weapon on school grounds and trespassing after being previously arrested for suspicion of attempting to commit second-degree murder, first-degree assault and engaging in a riot, according to the Weld County Sheriff’s Office.
The statement said that Debisa was also facing charges of felony menacing and first-degree burglary from earlier in the year.
Just a few weeks earlier, the sheriff’s office released a warning to the public that it was having to release Debisa, who the office called a “potential danger to the community,” because he did not meet the competency requirements to stand trial under a new Colorado law passed under Democratic leadership in 2024.
VENEZUELAN SUSPECT ‘SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN IN THE UNITED STATES,’ POLICE CHIEF SAYS AFTER DEADLY SHOOTING
Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colo., is warning that policies releasing repeat offenders like Ephraim Debisa (right) is “devastating law enforcement morale.” (Chet Strange/Getty Images and Weld County Sheriff’s Office)
In the statement, Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams criticized Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis and the Democrat-controlled state legislature, saying they “created a crisis” and “have continued to weaken the criminal justice system by handcuffing law enforcement, prosecutors and judges for the sake of criminals.”
“I pray this individual doesn’t hurt another innocent victim but the public deserves to know of his past violent actions so they can protect themselves accordingly,” said Reams.
“God help this State,” he added.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Evans, whose district includes portions of Weld County, said that as a former police officer, he knows that cases like these take an “emotional and mental health toll on the cops.”
“This is just devastating to public safety in Colorado, and it’s devastating to law enforcement morale, because you go, and you arrest a repeat violent offender who then gets released, and then you got to go catch him again two weeks later when he’s armed with a gun, and you know that you’re going to put your life on the line to go get an unstable individual armed with the firearm again,” Evans said, adding, “And he’s probably just going to get released — this is devastating to law enforcement morale as well.”
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