Feb. 23—A Black rancher at the center of a highly publicized dispute in east El Paso County appeared in court Thursday to request a continuance on a case in which she is accused of assaulting a peace officer.
Nicole Mallery faces charges of second- and third-degree assault on a law enforcement officer and a first responder, respectively, stemming from an incident that allegedly occurred during an arrest on her property in Yoder in April 2021.
El Paso County sheriff’s deputies arrested Mallery after she allegedly chased a process server off her property with a shotgun and fired it as the man was running away. During the arrest, Mallery — who has accused the Sheriff’s Office of ignoring an alleged racist intimidation campaign against her and her husband, Courtney — complained that officers were hurting her.
She reportedly bit and kicked a deputy during the incident.
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Last week, the Mallerys and several of their supporters attended a rally at the Capitol in Denver, where they advocated for the General Assembly to pass the CAREN Act, which stands for Caution Against Racially Exploitative Non-Emergencies. The legislative proposal, which New York adopted and is under consideration in other states, would create a civil penalty for people who call the police on people of color in nonemergency situations and when there’s “no reason to believe a crime or offense, or imminent threat to person or property, is occurring.”
The Mallerys, who also face pending charges after allegedly stalking a white neighbor, are scheduled to appear in court on March 30.
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