A Colorado police officer accused of “actively road raging” during an off-duty incident on Interstate 25 is now facing criminal charges, a case that – according to a CBS Colorado investigation – has become a window into how small police departments hire, rehire, and sometimes take chances on officers who leave other agencies “under a cloud.”
The allegations center on Officer Jack Ross, who Colorado State Patrol says was off duty and driving a personal vehicle when his actions allegedly caused an uninvolved driver to swerve and roll over on I-25 last August, then leave the scene.
The reported crash is tied to Larimer County, and the charges listed in the report – reckless driving and failure to report an accident – are misdemeanors, but ones even the local chiefs interviewed acknowledge can carry heavier consequences when the person accused is a sworn officer…