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CORONAVIRUS CASES

As of 4 p.m. Friday, July 24.

Colorado ‰ 42,980 cases, 1,661 COVID deaths

‰ 476,586 people tested

Around the region ‰ La Plata County: 182 cases, 2

deaths with COVID*

‰ Montezuma County: 95 cases, 3 deaths

‰ Archuleta County: 27 cases

‰ Dolores County: 2 cases

‰ San Juan County, Colorado: 2 cases

‰ San Miguel County: 70 cases

‰ San Juan County, N.M.: 2,901 cases, 177 deaths

*The state began distinguishing be-tween people who died from COVID-19 and people who died with COVID. La Plata County has had two people die with the virus.

BY EMILY HAYESHERALD STAFF WRITER

A new law meant to enhance accountability in law enforce-ment in Colorado has caused at least two officers to leave their positions at the Durango Police Department, and several oth-ers to take time off to consider whether they want to continue as law enforcement officers.

Senate Bill 217, which Gov. Jared Polis signed into law in June, bans chokeholds, over-hauls use of force and expands the use of body cameras across the state.

The law also requires the cre-ation of a new statewide da-tabase to docu-ment the poten-tial wrongdoing of police on duty and eliminates some litigation

protections for officers.The bill was developed by

the Colorado Legislature in direct response to demonstra-tions from Denver to Durango demanding justice for George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man killed by police in Minneap-olis, and for Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who died at the hands of police in Denver nine months earlier.

“There is deep concern about civil liability,” said Christian Champagne, district attorney for the 6th Judicial District, which includes La Plata County.

Several officers have left local law enforcement agen-cies in the district, Champagne said, because the liability was “too much for them and their families.”

One officer had been in law

Police quit over

new lawState legislation

increases liability for on-duty missteps

See POLICE, 8A

Champagne

BY JONATHAN ROMEOHERALD STAFF WRITER

As Roland Woody entered his fourth week at Mercy Re-gional Medical Center battling complications with COVID-19, his family gathered around a video chat to say their final goodbyes.

“We told him we loved him,” said his granddaughter, Deliah Woody. “And it seemed like he could hear us because there were tears rolling down his face.”

Roland Woody, 69, was ad-mitted to Mercy on June 22 after becoming infected with COVID-19. He died July 15.

Although awaiting official

confirmation from the Cen-ters for Diseases Control and Prevention, Deliah Woody said doctors at Mercy confirmed her grandfather died of COVID-19, marking the first death from the virus in La Plata County.

“Everyone is doubtful about it being real,” she said. “But it just made it very real for us all, you know.”

Roland Woody grew up near Chinle, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation. He went to school in Los Angeles to learn how to be a welder, and had a good career until an injury caused him to give it up, his granddaughter said.

Roland met his soon-to-be wife, Judy, when he was 18

years old, and moved with her to Durango while she attended Fort Lewis College.

For the past 25 years, the

couple has lived in Durango. Deliah said he was an active member at the First Baptist Church, always willing to help anyone in need and loved camping and working on cars.

The couple has 10 children, 17 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, Deliah said.

The week before Roland became ill, he could be found most days where he always was: in the shed working on a car, in good spirits.

The family had been cau-tious as the novel coronavirus spread throughout the U.S. Ro-land wore a mask when he’d go into town, carried sanitizer and even wore gloves.

“Some people are careless,” Deliah said. “But he was pretty

Victim’s family: Death made COVID-19 realRoland Woody, 69, died July 15 after four-week battle with coronavirus

Courtesy of Deliah Woody

Roland Woody, 69, was hospitalized at Mercy Regional Medical Center for four weeks before dying of complica-tions from COVID-19.

See WOODY, 8A

BY PATRICK ARMIJOHERALD STAFF WRITER

Mary Jane Ramos, 13, and Steffon Lanus, 14, spent Thursday morning putting the finishing touches on their Popsicle-stick robots that used a simple hydraulic system controlled by water levels adjusted with syring-es.

They were learning about Pascal’s law and how force works as they stud-ied physics in Christopher Skinner’s summer school session at Escalante Middle School. Later in the day, they matched their robots in combat to see whose contraption was most adept moving at their Pop-sicle-stick arms up, down and sideways to jab, poke and push their opponent’s

Summer school offers lessons in mask wearing, social distancing

Trial run for fall classes

See SCHOOL, 8A

JERRY MCBRIDE/Durango Herald photos

Sitting 6 feet apart from her fellow students, Mary Jane Ramos, 13, works on her robot in applied science class during a summer school session Thursday at Escalante Middle School. Durango School District 9-R is taking lessons from summer school to guide the district’s reopening this fall.

Sarah North, a Durango School District 9-R teacher, works with her student, Jasmin Vazquez, 11, during a sixth grade math summer school session Thursday at Escalante Middle School. Summer school classes like this are preparing students, parents and teachers for a fall reopening, complete with mask wearing, social distancing and minimizing personal contacts.