AURORA, Colo. — Darrell Rogers is out of a home.
He lived at Summit View Inn off Colfax for four years. This weekend, he says he was pushed out.
"I am a little angry, a little sad, just a little everywhere," said Rogers outside of his temporary new residence a few miles away. "We're basically living paycheck to paycheck to try not to be in a tent, you know?"
Several others were told to leave the property over the weekend as the hotel was closing. Long-term guests received notices in September that the property would be shutting them out starting in October.
"Its been hard," Rogers said. "We had to sleep in the car before we made it over here."
A manager with the hotel said it was scheduled to shut down for months and that residents were aware of the closing weekend. Because it is an inn and not an apartment complex, residents have fewer protections from removal.
But images and video of heavily armed security guards circling the property sparked concern from some of the residents. Kelsey Clark, an organizer with East Colfax Community Collective, says residents began seeing the security guards when the company started asking people to leave.
"I am deeply saddened that our fellow community members, you know, our fellow neighbors in the Denver metro area have been treated this inhumane and this poorly," Clark said. "It was very clear to me that they were there primarily to clear out the residents"
A representative with the hotel said the security company was hired for months to protect the property, and they had strict entrance policies for guests of guests. Former residents said they felt the security was not for their protection but their removal from the property.
"We had seen cans of mace and little guns but not like these army guys," Rogers said. "This is America, and we shouldn't be treated like this."
Police were called over the weekend, but no arrests were made and the officers left the property after speaking with the guards. The owners of the hotel have filed plans to turn it into an apartment complex.
