Kindness for Riley
What's next
Riley's parents are working to change Colorado law so an officer can never again choose to look away.
The gap
When Riley's mother first reported the harassment, an officer told her he didn't want to charge a minor. H.R. was eventually charged with harassment and found to meet the legal threshold for it — but only after Riley had died.
Nothing about the law needed to change for that charge to happen sooner. What needed to change was a single decision point: an officer's discretion not to act, even with a documented, life-threatening history already on the table.
The rule, in plain language
If a documented suicide attempt exists and the reported conduct meets the elements of Colorado's criminal harassment statute (C.R.S. 18-9-111), the officer does not have discretion to decline charges. Charging is mandatory.
One trigger. One consequence. No new crime — just closing a gap in how an existing one gets enforced when the officer already knows the victim's history carries documented, elevated risk.
How this bill would work
Adult offenders: a mandatory charging referral, full stop.
Minors: the officer still can't decline to act, but their job is a mandatory referral into the juvenile justice system — not a charging decision. What happens next (diversion or formal charges) stays with the DA and juvenile system, not a responding officer's judgment call.
Proposed amendment to C.R.S. 18-9-111 (Harassment)
(x) Mandatory charging — documented suicide-attempt survivor.
(I) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, if a victim of an alleged violation of this section discloses, at the time a report is made to a law enforcement officer, documented evidence of a prior suicide attempt — including but not limited to a hospital record, discharge summary, or other medical record — and the reporting officer has probable cause to believe that the elements of this section have been met, the officer shall refer the incident for mandatory charging. The officer's discretion not to refer the incident for charging shall not apply.
(II) For an alleged offender who is under eighteen years of age at the time of the offense, the officer shall make a mandatory referral to the juvenile justice system in lieu of a charging referral under subsection (I). Discretion not to make such referral shall not apply. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to mandate a specific disposition, diversion determination, or charging decision by the district attorney or juvenile justice system following such referral.
(III) "Documented evidence" for purposes of this subsection means a record maintained by a hospital, licensed medical provider, or licensed mental health provider reflecting treatment following a suicide attempt.
Legislative declaration (for bill preamble)
The General Assembly finds that individuals with a documented history of a suicide attempt face a materially elevated risk of harm from continued harassment, and that officer discretion at the point of initial report has, in practice, allowed known, documented risk to go unaddressed until after serious harm occurs. The purpose of this Act is to remove that discretion at the narrow point where risk is already disclosed and documented, without creating a new criminal offense or altering the elements of existing law.
How this moves forward
Riley's story, supporting documentation, and a two-minute verbal summary ready to deliver to a legislative staffer.
A Colorado bill needs a sitting state representative or senator to carry it — ideally one on the Judiciary or Public Health Care & Human Services committees. Find your own district's legislator at leg.colorado.gov.
NAMI Colorado, the AFSP Colorado chapter, and Colorado Crisis Services regularly help families bring bills like this to the legislature, and can help identify a sponsor or co-testify.
Once a sponsor agrees, Colorado's nonpartisan Office of Legislative Legal Services (OLLS) turns the policy concept into formal statutory language, using the draft above as a starting point.
Colorado's session runs January through early May. The bill is heard in committee (most likely Judiciary), where testimony happens, then proceeds to floor votes in both chambers.
If the bill passes both chambers, it goes to the Governor for signature. In parallel, the family is also exploring a faster local ordinance or police-policy change as a working example while the statewide bill moves forward.
How you can help
Find your Colorado legislator and ask them to support Riley's Law. Reach out to NAMI Colorado or AFSP Colorado to lend support. Share this page with someone who'd care.