Coming out of a brief retirement on Tuesday, “retired” activist Regan Benson was accompanied by Luis “Real Constitutional Upholders” Johnson as the pair went to investigate the Lakewood, Colorado’s embrace of a blue envelope policy.
The National Blue Envelope movement is being embraced by police forces across America as a means to improve communication between disabled members of society and the police force.
Lakewood’s adoption of the policy came as part of Jefferson County, Colorado’s adoption of the policy. On the Jeffco.us website, which Benson claimed to have difficulty finding, the program is described as:
Launched in Connecticut in 2020, the Blue Envelope Program was originally designed to provide a simple solution to help drivers with communication challenges during traffic stops. It uses a bright blue envelope to hold essential documents along with clear instructions for both the driver and the officer. It has since expanded to include materials people can have with them even when not driving, such as bracelets, lanyards, and buttons. This allows for a better understanding among all first responders in any type of interaction with members of the public.
The program’s success quickly led to its adoption across the nation, with law enforcement agencies in parts of New Jersey, Maine, Massachusetts, Arizona, San Diego, and Colorado implementing similar initiatives. These programs encourage first responders to approach identified citizens with empathy and clear communication, reducing misunderstandings and anxiety.
Benson started the video expressing confusion at the purpose of the program. She initially thought that individuals would write letters to the police to be held in the envelope to express why a person could not communicate with police officers.
The YouTuber made it clear that she had intended to write a letter indicating that she has a condition where she becomes extremely aggressive when interacting with police. Instead of planning on invoking her fifth amendment rights to keep her from communicating with police, she expressed the idea that the letter would allow her not to communicate with the police at all.
Benson was slightly disappointed as she entered the Lakewood police department and received her blue envelope swag kit. The kit included a license plate holder, a seat belt pad, a blue sticker for a car’s back window, a lanyard, a keychain, a wristband and the blue envelope itself.
The envelope is intended to house the car’s registration and proof of insurance. On the back of the envelope, there’s fields for the person’s name, condition, and emergency contacts in case the driver is incapable of verbally answering the police.
Benson became enraged when she asked to speak to Commander Rob Buchan, who is in charge of the project and he was unavailable. Instead of trying to call Commander Buchan, Benson did an information request for his schedule an for all policies on file for the program.
After a bathroom break, Benson approached a group of police officers who were unaware of what to do when someone walked up to them and presented them with a blue envelope. She used this as an example of how poorly trained the police were in the new program, not the fact that the envelope was never intended to be used in such a situation.
The YouTuber quickly became distracted as she was leaving the building as she spotted a Lakewood police officer who was moving equipment from his personal vehicle to his police car. Upon seeing the man with a rifle, Benson feigned being frightened and told the man that Johnson lost his gun rights for doing something similar.
As the police officer treated her with respect during the interaction, Benson decided not to file a complaint against him before ending the broadcast.
