A special session of the Colorado legislature is expected to convene in late August to address artificial intelligence regulation and Medicaid cuts — but public safety should also be on the docket, according to a self-described “action-based organization focused on reversing radical policies that are harming the state.”

Advance Colorado is calling on Gov. Jared Polis to address public safety during the potential special session, citing a recent case in which an Arapahoe County District Attorney dropped charges against a man who allegedly tried to kidnap a child from outside an Aurora elementary school as growing cause for concern.

To date, Polis has hinted at the possibility of a special session, but no official action has been taken. 

Advance Colorado says the case of Solomon Galligan highlighted a “glaring problem that needs to be immediately addressed.”

Galligan, 33, was arrested in April 2024 after allegedly attempting to kidnap a young boy from outside Aurora’s Black Hills Elementary School. In July of that year, Galligan, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, was declared incompetent to stand trial.

Earlier this week, it was announced that prosecutors plan to drop all charges against Galligan, saying he remains incompetent to proceed to trial and will be released to a mental health facility.

“When a defendant is found mentally incompetent to proceed and is being civilly committed for mental health treatment, we are legally obligated to dismiss charges,” said 18th Judicial District Attorney spokesperson Eric Ross.

Prosecutors have dropped charges against Galligan due to competency issues four times in the past six years, according to Colorado Politics’ news partner 9News. 

According to Advance Colorado, state law requires charges to be dropped for a Class five or six felony after one year if the accused is still believed to be mentally incompetent. For a class four felony, charges must be dropped after two years. The organization argues there should be no time limit requiring the dropping of charges for any level of felony, calling the current provisions a loophole that is allowing “dangerous felons to be released back on the streets” when correctional facilities are full. 

“The Colorado legislature continues to value dangerous offenders over victims by creating safe harbors designed to protect defendants, and their statutory schemes have been signed into law by Governor Polis,” said 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen. “Coloradans will continue to suffer until our legislature and governor put a real priority on public safety.”

“This is one factor contributing to Colorado’s status as the second most dangerous state in the nation,” said Michael Fields, president of Advance Colorado. “If the Governor calls the legislature back for a special session, there is no question he should include this public safety issue in his call. Eliminating time limits for dropped charges on dangerous, violent felonies is a common sense, easy fix that would keep our kids safer. If AI can be dealt with in a special session, surely public safety can be, too.”

Public safety is one of Advance Colorado’s priority issues; last November, the group successfully passed Proposition 130, which directs the state to invest $350 million toward the recruitment, training, and retention of law enforcement officers in the state, which Fields believes will help achieve Polis’ goal of becoming one of the top 10 safest states. 

“Everybody’s aware that safety is an issue in Colorado,” he said. “There’s been two recent studies that came out that had us at third worst or seventh worst in terms of most dangerous states. Even the governor has acknowledged it and said we need to be in the top 10 because we’re not. So, I think people were very much open to supporting law enforcement holding violent criminals accountable.”