The fundamental law principle “Innocent Until Proven Guilty’ was discarded entirely by a cop who showed up at a woman’s front door in Denver, Colorado, to declare her guilty of stealing a $25 package from a neighboring town. A YouTube video detailed the rude exchange captured by the woman’s Ring doorbell camera. The cop, identified as Sgt. Jamie Milliman with the Columbine Valley Department knocked on the door, entirely sure he had caught the thief and ready to issue a summons.
Milliman explained that they had surveillance all around Bow Mar, which was only 50 feet south. “You know we have cameras in that town. You can’t get a breath of fresh air in or out of that place without us knowing,” he stated as he accused her of ringing the doorbell and running away with the said package. The cop insisted he had evidence of this, which included footage from Flock surveillance cameras that captured her Rivian truck driving through the town and a clip from the alleged victim supposedly showing her in the act.
When he handed her the summons for a December court date, the Denver woman asked to see the video. However, Milliman denied. She then offered videos from her truck that would have cleared her name, but that fell on deaf ears as well. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll be giving this all to you. If you are going to deny it to me, I am not going to help you with any courtesy,” Milliman harshly concluded.
Despite numerous failed efforts to reach the Chief of Police, the Denver woman was determined to prove her innocence. She gathered evidence, which included dashcam footage from her truck, Google Maps logs, doorbell camera footage from the business she had visited in the town, and her outfit that day. Finally, she got an email from Chief Bret Cottrell stating that the summons had been dismissed. “After reviewing the evidence you have provided (nicely done btw), we have voided the summons we issued,” he wrote, commending her efforts.
The video sparked numerous reactions on social media, most of which condemned the officer’s behavior. “What a joke. That popo has charged you guilty before a trial,” a user fumed. “He will not offer you any consideration because you ‘lied’, but he deserves no consideration because he violated your rights to be innocent till proven guilty. He is not a judge and/or jury.”
Another wrote, “That useless cop should be made to turn over months, maybe years’ salary to her with added compensation…” before commending the woman’s determination, “Great tenacity in gathering evidence to disprove his nonsense.” One netizen bluntly stated, “That ‘detective’ is a piece of crap; he fits the typical MO for one, very arrogant and full of himself.” While another chimed in, “Screw that cop and his polite little attitude. Horrible detective work.”
A user admitted, “Sadly, as much as I hate criminals, I also can’t stand when the police overreach.” They added, “So many people get caught up in charges that they have no part in. Hopefully, this lady is completely exonerated.”
Kudos to the woman for staying the course and fighting for her innocence. Others haven’t been so lucky.
