Josh Helmuth
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Many flaunt downtown Colorado Springs as one of the best in the country. It’s certainly grown considerably in recent years. But with that growth has come a shrinking safety, at least that’s the belief of Tina Brookins.
“[He] couldn’t even turn around,” Tina Brookins said to KRDO13 Investigates. [He] thought [he] had been punched or something … when he put his hand back there, he knew.”
A man allegedly stabbed her 20-year-old son, David Brookins, downtown last summer while he was with a group of friends, waiting for a light to change, at Cimarron and Tejon.
Tina Brookins says her son will never be the same.
“He heard somebody shout ‘knife,'” said Tina Brookins. “They were all fleeing. They were all running in [different] directions.”
David nearly died that night, June 20, 2024. It took exploratory surgery to save his life. Emergency surgeons found he was bleeding internally, and David lost a kidney.
“His roommate actually jumped into the street to save himself,” said Tina Brookins. “And my son didn’t have time to even turn around. So he was stabbed in the lower right side directly into the kidney,” she said.
David’s father, John Brookins, praised how quickly police responded.
“My view is the police did a pretty good job that night,” said John Brookins. “And if it wasn’t for the police on scene that helped him and the EMS people that showed up, I don’t know whether you’re [sic] going to [have] made it or not.”
According to Tina Brookins, the stabbing was unprovoked. Police noted it was certainly “random.” It was also brazen.
The alleged stabbing wasn’t too late at night; it was in the 10 o’clock hour. David was with a group of friends in a popular area of downtown near several bars and restaurants. Even more alarming is the fact that David wasn’t the first victim, according to police.
Just 11 days earlier, shortly after 9 pm, police say the same suspect stabbed a man vaping outside Gasoline Alley on North Tejon. But the attacker got away. It wasn’t until David and his friends were attacked that police arrested a 35-year-old named Tommy Lavery, a man with a violent criminal record, previously found guilty of felony assault and domestic violence.
According to arrest records, Lavery was homeless, living out of his car, “targeting citizens in the downtown area of Colorado Springs and stabbing them.” Lavery is currently facing 16 charges, including three counts of attempted murder regarding the stabbings downtown. The third count of attempted murder stems from his alleged attempt to stab one of Brookins’ friends, according to a police report shared with KRDO13.
“My surprise was like, ‘Why was there no warning?'” asked Tina. “Isn’t that an area in the summer that when you know something is happening with all the tourists to be better protected? I mean, have police out there?”
Violent downtown crime since 2020
Last summer’s random stabbings aren’t the first for downtown Colorado Springs.
In 2020, a man claiming to be “Jesus Christ” stabbed eight people while walking the Midland Trail into downtown and was only caught after citizens held him down outside of a bar. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
So, what’s crime been like downtown since 2020? KRDO13 Investigates did some digging.
Overall, downtown crime ebbed and flowed in the five years from 2020-2024, averaging 1,058 arrests per year. However, over that same time, felony assault jumped 105 percent.
What is CSPD doing to keep downtown safe?
KRDO13 spoke with police to see what’s being done to prevent violent crime downtown, especially regarding those on the streets who may be suffering a mental health crisis.
CSPD declined an interview, but did send us an in-depth response to our questions via email.
They note in part, “CSPD seeks to address all crimes committed in the downtown area, regardless of anyone’s housing status,” and that they are “continually working to enforce the city ordinance that makes camping illegal across the city.”
We asked CSPD if they track homeless crime. They said they do not track it, saying “it would be a form of profiling.”
How many homeless individuals get arrested?
But the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice does track homeless bookings and inmates. In 2018, they surveyed over 500 inmates in seven Colorado jails, including El Paso County, focusing on the homeless population. The study found 61 percent of inmates were experiencing homelessness within 30 days prior to entering jail, and 64 percent had a mental illness. However, they also noted that homeless inmates had “significantly fewer violent crime charges than non-homeless inmates.”
The DCJ also has a jail population dashboard that tracks inmates experiencing homelessness. In fact, according to the DCJ, El Paso County had 325 homeless individuals jailed in the first quarter of 2025 – nearly 9 percent of the inmate population.
The “HOT” Team
It’s also important to note that CSPD has a small staff of nine officers called the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT).
KRDO13 followed them during a homeless camp cleanup in April.
“Yes we want them to succeed in life. We’ll do everything we can to get them there. But we also have to hold them accountable,” said Sgt. Olav Chaney, who leads the team.
The HOT Team has been around since 2009, saying that homeless camps dramatically increased in Colorado Springs over the summer of 2008. They say they are a compassion-first unit, offering services and resources to all those they come across, while also giving notice before their arrival. If they discover someone with a warrant, they then make an arrest.
This past April’s cleanup was near America the Beautiful Park. It resulted in 60 arrests that included a violent sexual predator from Texas.
In fact, the HOT Team arrested 1,918 people last year, 233 of those were felony arrests. In 2023, they arrested over 2,000 people, roughly 300 of them were felony arrests.
While not all who are homeless are dangerous, Sgt. Chaney noted what they’re up against is in this Youtube video posted last year.
“There’s a lot of crime within the homeless community. There’s a lot of folks, felons in the homeless community that you just have to be careful with,” he says in the video.
What’s not working?
Despite the HOT Team’s efforts, why do they feel violent crime is still a big issue?
Researchers at CU’s Anschutz Medical Campus analyzed involuntary sweeps of homeless camps for four and a half years in Denver. Their study says the sweeps had no effect in reducing crime. In fact, in some cases, rates of violent crime went up following sweeps.
Some feel laws need to be stronger.
CSPD Chief Adrian Vasquez said “poor legislation (at the state level) has made our city streets a more dangerous place for our citizens and officers.”
Chief Vasquez is referencing three measures from this letter in particular: Bail and Bond reform from 2019 (HB19-1225) that made it easier for offenders to be released on no bond for low level offenses, a bill from 2021 (HB21-1280) that requires a court to hold a bond setting hearing within 48 hours after an arrest, and two bills passed in 2021 and 2023 (SB21-271, HB23-1293) police say weakens sentencing for weapons, drug and theft crimes.
Last summer’s stabbings have certainly caught the attention of City Hall.
“I think it’s unacceptable,” said City Councilman Dave Donelson.
Donelson spoke with Tina Brookins and believes more can be done to help public safety downtown, especially regarding homeless crime.
“If you’re homeless and you want help, Colorado Springs should be a good place, and we should help people. If you don’t want help, if you really just want to live in your car on the street, this should be the worst place to live,” said Donelson. “I think the mayor needs to take a stance that this isn’t going to we’re not going to accept this anymore.”
The Springs Rescue Mission’s Stance
It’s already illegal to camp in a public space in Colorado Springs, including near parks and waterways. There’s also a sit-lie ordinance that makes it illegal to sit or lie down on a sidewalk.
KRDO13 went to The Springs Rescue Mission (SRM) to get their take on local laws. After all, they serve over 6,000 homeless people every year. They support the current city ordinances and call laws like them “wise compassion.”
“Some of those things really do help provide the opportunity for engagement to for individuals to be seen,” said Travis Williams, President and CEO of the SRM. “I think that’s probably the best thing that we can do as a community, is how do we help individuals to be seen?” he said.
Williams believes offering shelter or housing is the most effective way to reduce homeless crime, saying allowing people on the streets to isolate only leads to more harm to themselves and others.
“We have to be strong in order to really provide and create the best space for for everyone,” said Williams.
“We find folks who are struggling with severe mental health challenges, severe behavioral health challenges, addiction challenges. And then undergirding that is a lack of relationship, the connectivity,” he added.
The Springs Rescue Mission offers a multitude of services to help people with their physical and mental well-being, on top of everything it takes to find housing and work stability. That being said, they’re also no stranger to those who are dangerous.
Police say an SRM client stabbed and killed a man at the Springs Rescue Mission last summer. Williams says that of the thousands of homeless individuals they see each year, violent crime is still relatively rare.
“I’d say that, for the majority of people that we see, in any given sphere of population, those folks that choose to be malicious are relatively a small population,” said Williams. “It’s just when it happens, it creates a lot of concern.”
Meanwhile, until laws are changed or enforced more strictly, the Brookins family says they’re avoiding downtown Colorado Springs altogether.
“It needs to come from our local government because they want to build. They want to expand,” said Tina Brookins. “You have to make this place safe before you can bring in more people.”
Colorado Springs Police Department’s complete, unedited response
CSPD declined an on-camera interview with KRDO13 regarding downtown homeless crime. However, KRDO13’s Josh Helmuth emailed the department all the questions that would have been asked during the interview and, in response, sent this very lengthy, detailed reply.
Below is the full, unedited, written interview.
What is CSPD doing to combat homeless crime downtown?
CSPD seeks to address all crimes committed in the downtown area, regardless of anyone’s housing status. In the homeless community, there are both victims of crime, those who commit crime, and those who are law-abiding community members.
The HOT team and the DART team have a focus on contacting members of our homeless community, identifying who they are, and offering to connect them with resources available in our community to help them with mental health issues, addiction issues, with the ultimate goal of getting them into housing. Through these contacts, officers do become aware of individuals who are illegally camping or may have arrest warrants and take appropriate action.
CSPD address crimes across the community regardless of the housing status of those who commit the crimes. It is important to remember that our homeless community is also an incredibly vulnerable community and our HOT and DART units not only work to address crime committed downtown, they also work to protect victims of crime who may be homeless too.
The DART team specifically works in a proactive measure, doing walking patrols throughout the downtown area during the day time and advanced patrols during the evenings. They work to cultivate relationships with business owners and community members downtown, including those who are experiencing homelessness.
What does it mean to “clear warrants” during a HOT team cleanup? Are those with warrants jailed or just ticketed and let go immediately?
The recent 2-day effort was a focus to *clean trash from our cities trails and parks. As part of this collaborative clean-up effort, CSPD officers contacted members of the homeless community who were discovered to have warrants for their arrest.
Clearing a warrant means that if there is a warrant for someone’s arrest, and officers contact them and place them in custody and take them to jail, the warrant is then cleared, and that person is then in the judicial system, and not wanted on a warrant.
Under current city code, 9.6.110 – 9.6.111, when an officer contacts an individual found to be illegally camping, if they don’t have a warrant, then it’s a cite and release ticket. We are not allowed to take that individual to jail for a first offense, or second, or third ect. When they are given the ticket, they are also given a court date to appear before a judge on the charge of illegal camping. If that person does not appear, then the city judge can issue a warrant for their arrest. If we encounter that person again and discover the warrant, we can take them to jail, and that warrant issued is “cleared”.
Clearing a warrant can mean a number of things, depending on what the warrant is for and the type of crime that has been committed. For example, many of the warrants our homeless population has are “failure to appear” warrants or lapsed fines from illegal camping violations. These offenses are not jailable offenses – we inform the individual of their lapsed fines or missed court date, assign a new court date, and move on. Other warrants for more serious crimes like violent crimes, drug crimes, etc. may come with jail time. When we are able, we identify those individuals and place them into custody, clearing the warrant.
How does CSPD try to crack down on those illegally camping– even if it means sleeping in their cars at parks? And what does CSPD need in order to improve that enforcement?
CSPD is continually working to enforce the city ordinance that makes camping illegal across the city, and not just in the downtown area. The definition of illegal camping is defined in the city code, 9.6.110 – 9.6.111. CSPD does this through a number of ways like proactive enforcement through our HOT or DART units, responding to community complaints, and more. The important thing to remember, is that illegal camping is not a jailable offense under current city code; it comes with a fine and an order to vacate the premises. The other aspect that should be noted is that illegal camping on publicly owned land is different than camping on private property. With private property, CSPD is able to work with property owners to upgrade the fines/charges to include trespassing. If someone is found “sleeping in their car” and an officer discovers other evidence that indicates camping, then they can be cited for illegal camping.
Is CSPD considering tracking homeless crime, especially downtown?
CSPD is responsible for policing across the city and currently does not track crime rates by any given population or socioeconomic groups of people, including those experiencing homelessness. Doing so would be a form of profiling.
What would CSPD like to see from lawmakers that would make their jobs easier in cracking down on homeless crime?
CSPD enforces city ordinances as they are written by city council. CSPD seeks to enforce the law equally and hold those who commit a crime accountable for their actions, regardless of that person’s housing status.
Recently, Chief Vasquez had this to say regarding how state lawmakers could help policing efforts in reducing violent crime across the board. “In recent years, legislative changes out of the Capitol have significantly limited law enforcement’s ability to hold prolific and violent repeat offenders accountable for serious crimes. These restrictions have impactful and ongoing consequences. The bottom line is that poor legislation (at the state level) has made our city streets a more dangerous place for our citizens and officers, who are committed to doing whatever they are called to do to protect the Colorado Springs community every day.” – Chief Adrian Vasquez
What are CSPD’s staffing numbers? Are you near full staffing or still short of officers? If short, by how many?
CSPD authorized strength is currently 839 sworn officers. As of Tuesday, April 22, CSPD has 802 sworn officers. Staffing numbers are a fluid and complex because, as our city is continually growing, working in concert with the Mayor and city council, the Chief of Police for the foreseeable future will continually be looking to raise our authorized strength number to better protect and serve our city.
Tina Brookins asked why there was no warning regarding the alleged stabbing suspect. Why wasn’t the community warned about the downtown stabbings?
CSPD did warn the community using our usual channels. CSPD uses our public blotter as a way to communicate information about CSPD activity and criminal activity to our community, as well as with our media partners who we hope will amplify the information appropriately.
The first stabbing on June 9 – which our investigation indicates was tied to the June 20 stabbing, was posted on our public blotter to make our news partners and community members aware of the June 9 stabbing in the downtown area.
CSPD notified the community with the relevant information we had at the time of June 9, regarding the first stabbing on the blotter. The investigation was continuing on the 20th of June, when the same officers who responded to the June 9 stabbing, heard the information over the radio about the June 21 stabbing in the down town area, and responded and quickly and were able to identify that the suspect from the June 20 stabbing may have been linked to the June 9 stabbing and were able to take quick action, which allowed officers to located the suspect that night and take him into custody.
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