Published: March 1, 2023

Doreen Jokerst

Chief Doreen Jokerst

Maris Herold

Maris Herold

On behalf of members of the CU «Ƶ and the city of «Ƶ police departments, we would like to thank you for your questions and feedback in the wake of our coordinated emergency responses to three separate incidents: a SWAT response to a report of shots fired at the Millennium Harvest House hotel on Feb. 20, a call of a person with a gun near «Ƶ High School on Feb. 22 (ultimately determined to be part of a series of unfounded “swatting” calls which occurred throughout our state) and a search for a shooting suspect near CU «Ƶ’s family housing late Monday night, Feb. 27.

We realize that students, faculty and staff at CU «Ƶ, especially those whose addresses fell within the shelter-in-place zones, are receiving a higher than normal number of emergency alerts from various sources, including CU «Ƶ alerts and Everbridge alerts, and we want to be sure community members understand the purpose, timing and dissemination of each type of alert.

Shelter-in-place orders sent to two different neighborhoods near the CU «Ƶ campus in both the Millennium hotel incident and the «Ƶ High School call were issued through . University populations in the impacted areas would have received the Everbridge alertsafter the university opted-in students, faculty and staff with «Ƶ addresseslast fall semester.

In both cases, the Everbridge alerts were followed by , amplifying confirmed information from «Ƶ Police (BPD), the agency leading the response. CU «Ƶ emergency alerts are posted to the Ի Twitter accounts. BPD also shares information on.

, including shelter in place, can be found on the Emergency Management website. explaining the university’s alert levels and safety instructions can be found on the CUPD website.

As a reminder, Everbridge is separate from CU «Ƶ alerts. If you believe your address was inside a shelter-in-place area yet you did not receive an Everbridge alert, please .

Anyone with a colorado.edu email address automatically receives CU «Ƶ’s emergency alerts via university email. Current CU «Ƶ students who did not receive last week’s text alerts are reminded to in Buff Portal; faculty and staff are encouraged to .Need more help? Contact the Office of Information Technology.

CUPD assisted BPD in responding to these incidents. The two police agencies regularly work together to respond to calls, especially those near campus for which the university is piloting an expanded alert area. It’s not unusual for a campus community member with an address in an impacted area to receive both Everbridge and CU «Ƶ alerts. to learn more about CUPD's relationships with other law enforcement agencies.

It is our shared goal to keep all community members informed of incidents that could impact their safety, and to share confirmed information and instructions as quickly as possible. Please ensure your contact information is correct in Everbridge and the university portals.

Thank you,

Chief Doreen Jokerst
CU «Ƶ Police

Chief Maris Herold
«Ƶ Police

CU «Ƶ alerts and advisories timeline graphic

Image showing the flow of information during incidents occurring off campus. When an incident is reported near campus, «Ƶ Police respond and CU «Ƶ Police assist. «Ƶ Police may alert the community via Twitter or Everbridge, while CU «Ƶ Police confirm information then send an advisory or emergency alert.