The mountain area’s newspaper since 1958
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 7, 2024
VOLUME 65 | ISSUE 51
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Morrison police sergeant’s arrest affidavit includes allegations of years of stalking and abuse BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
“The badge is a cornerstone of our existence,” said Kris Kazian, EFR fire operations chief. “Our actions can shine that badge or tarnish it.” The badge is in the shape of a Maltese cross, with each of the eight points representing an occupational commitment, and symbolizes the willingness of firefighters to sacrifice their lives for others. “We are a family working together to give to this community,” Kazian said. “In people’s worst times, they call 911 and expect us to show up as professionals, as
An eight-page arrest affidavit for Morrison Police Sgt. Richard Norton details years of alleged stalking, murder threats and abuse involving Norton’s first ex-wife, children and girlfriend. Witnesses interviewed by Longmont Police said Norton repeatedly threatened to kill his ex-wife and her new husband, allegedly saying “he wanted to murder someone so he could see what it felt like,” and reportedly “bragging about breaking into people’s homes before to arrest (them) and that he can delete all footage,” according to Norton’s Oct. 3 arrest affidavit. His children were so scared one of them slept by the back door with a baseball bat in case Norton broke in, according to the affidavit. The former Morrison K9 officer is on unpaid administrative leave after an Oct. 4 arrest by Longmont Police on charges of domestic violence, child abuse and unlawful storage of a firearm. Before joining Morrison’s police force, Norton worked in Broomfield and was named in a federal lawsuit alleging he and another Broomfield officer manhandled a disabled 15-year-old girl during a 2017 arrest. An internal Broomfield PD investigation also found Norton sent inappropriate and unwanted sexual messages to four of his female coworkers, creating a hostile and offensive work environment. He resigned from Broomfield in 2022, while under investigation. The affidavit includes stories of incidents with his ex-wife and children that led to his October arrest. Norton and his first ex-wife met in college, according to the affidavit. She told police he proposed to her while standing near a cliff, afterward saying if she hadn’t said yes, “he’d have pushed her off.” During the relationship, the affidavit says he made comments “that if he couldn’t have her, no one could.” Norton’s physical and sexual abuse progressed slowly through the relationship, according to the document. He would reportedly pin his first ex-
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EFR Fire Chief Mike Weege swears in the organization’s new firefighters, including from left, paramedic Joe Black, Joe Rimkus, Nate Perdue, PHOTO BY JANE REUTER Harrison Leahy, Sean Ender, Joe Galindo and David Hughes.
Evergreen Fire/Rescue’s new teammates formally join foothills firefighting community Six paid firefighters and several others were recognized in badge pinning and oath-taking ceremony BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
In a ceremony that honored the traditions of the firefighter industry and Evergreen Fire/Rescue in particular, EFR formally welcomed its first paid
firefighters Oct. 25. The event, which included a badge-pinning ceremony and oath, also recognized seven other EFR firefighters who recently earned promotions. The six men include four former EFR volunteer firefighters and two career firefighters. Their spouses, friends, children and babies gathered around each of them to pin the badge on their EFR uniforms. The firefighter pinning ceremony is a tradition that introduces new firefighters to their department and community and symbolizes their new roles and responsibilities.
VOICES: 10 | LIFE: 14 | HAPPENINGS: 16 | PUZZLES: 18
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