The Denver Mayor’s Vehicle Was Stolen, Again
Crime is spiking in major cities around the U.S., including in Denver, Colorado where Mayor Mike Johnston has had his vehicle stolen — for the second time.
A spokesperson for Mayor Johnston’s office confirmed to a local outlet that his personal vehicle was reported stolen on October 28 at 6:09 a.m. and was later located in Aurora using the car’s GPS. Police officers told KDVR that they would not be sharing additional information about the theft “to protect the safety of Mayor Johnston and his family.”
It took just over a month for news of the Mayor’s vehicle theft to be made public.
This is reportedly the second time the Mayor’s vehicle has been stolen in the city. In 2017, Johnston asked his social media followers to help him locate his stolen vehicle. In a post to X (formerly Twitter), he wrote, “Help! My car just got stolen from Office Depot on 35th+quebec. Call 911 if seen (yes I painted my car orange+blue).”
Colorado’s rate of vehicle theft has increased by 144% from 2011 to 2020; the state’s population grew by approximately 15% during that time, and in 2022, the state saw a record number of auto thefts. According to Denver Crime, as of November 27, there have been 10,854 auto thefts reported to police this year alone, averaging 999.9 each month — the equivalent of 32.9 vehicle thefts a day.
The issue has become so prevalent that earlier this year Colorado passed a law increasing the penalty for repeat car theft. CPR News reported that “those who have been convicted of car theft at least twice before” can be charged with a class 3 felony, “punishable by between four and 12 years in prison.”
Other cities around the U.S. have employed several new initiatives in an attempt to curb auto thefts. In Washington D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a new program that will give residents of high-crime neighborhoods free “digital tracking tags” in response to the rampant vehicle theft in the area. Just last month, Secret Service agents protecting President Joe Biden’s granddaughter, Naomi Biden, “opened fire after three people tried to break into an unmarked Secret Service vehicle” the Associated Press reported. Police have documented 750 reported carjackings and over 6,000 reported auto thefts this year alone in the nation’s capital city.
