Recently acquired public documents provide details about a string of restraining orders taken out against Joe Whitcomb, the Democrat candidate for state Senate District 23 in Broomfield.
Over the weekend, the Rocky Mountain News reported Whitcomb’s ex-girlfriend claimed he stalked her and wouldn’t stop calling after their two-month relationship ended in 1995. She filed three separate restraining orders against him over a three month period that year.
The three orders, filed by Joleen DeBusk against Whitcomb, were all dismissed when DeBusk failed to show at hearings to defend her accusations. Court records, however, show that immediately after the first two dismissals, DeBusk maintained that Whitcomb began attempting undesired contact once again. In the second report, she wrote: “Joseph Whitcomb has called me at my place of work at least five times since the first restraining order has been taken off. I am afraid to walk to my car, and I am afraid to drive home because I hear he is following me. I received a phone call from him one hour after the restraining order was off and he calls continuously.”
The third report details a similar pattern of events. DeBusk wrote that Whitcomb repeatedly tried to contact her at work after the second restraining order lapsed, and she went on the write that she feared for her safety.
Denver defense attorney Larry Pozner cautioned against making conclusions either way. "Retraining orders have become part of the vocabulary of urban America," he said. "Everything has been blown out of proportion and the legal system is being dragged into unpleasant personal relationships."
Pozner said a restraining order is "incredibly easy" to obtain. The petitioner has to fill out a form detailing why he or she is frightened of the person in question and that the offense is recent. The judge will then issue a temporary restraining order and set a date for a permanent order hearing. "Often what you see is that someone gets a temporary restraining order that lapses and never becomes permanent, so they file another. That's how you create a record that someone is scary."
Whitcomb did not return Face The State's request for an interview. He is challenging incumbent Sen. Shawn Mitchell, a Republican, in one of the most closely watched races in the state.