A man was charged with disturbing the peace under Durango’s municipal code after allegedly confronting a woman wearing in a “Make America Healthy Again” hat at the Durango Community Recreation Center last weekend.
Donald Ratcliff, 69, of Durango, was charged with disturbing the peace and issued a summons Wednesday. The Durango Police Department provided a response to The Durango Herald’s open records request seeking details of the complaint at 4:53 p.m. Friday.
Ratcliff was not immediately available for comment Friday evening.
The victim, Bernadette Lake, posted about the incident on social media and spoke with The Durango Herald via email on Friday.
Ratcliff is accused of acting in a verbally aggressive manner, according to a Durango Police Department news release. He allegedly “encroached upon” Lake’s personal space and “flicked” her hat, according to the release. Under municipal code, he could face up to a $2,650 fine and/or 364 days in jail.
News of the incident gained traction on social media after Lake posted about it on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Lake was working out at the city-run facility when Ratcliff approached her. According to her post, the man was “screaming at me 4 INCHES from my face, calling me every name in the book ‘f-ing B’……”
In an email to The Durango Herald, Lake said “the man was in a full force rage, he used all four fingers of his hand to aggressively attempt to physically knock that hat off my head.”
Two male patrons came to Lake’s aid, and an employee who did not witness the interaction called 911 and intervened. The employee “was unaware of the confrontation” according to police, and her actions “may have given (Lake) the impression of bias, though that was not the employee’s intention.”
“While I am still disappointed in the initial reaction, I understand now she may have had more information about the gentleman involved and his previous political outbursts,” Lake wrote in her email to the Herald. “I feel even after the police had the situation under control, she could have inquired if I was OK and felt safe.”
One of Lake’s previous – and now-deleted – posts on X referenced how she “loved” the “apoplectic” reaction people had to a shirt espousing her anti-abortion stance at the same facility.
“The context of my previous post was that if you dare show a different view in Durango, people become apoplectic,” she explained in her email. “I 'loved' it because it makes people realize there are other people who think differently, have different experiences and that is OK.”
Going forward, both Lake and the Durango Police Department called for civil discourse free of violence.
“Freedom of expression is a fundamental right, and we will not tolerate attempts to silence or intimidate others through aggression,” Police Chief Brice Current wrote in the release. “No matter what the message or viewpoint, resorting to violence, threats, or intimidation is never the answer.”
This story has been updated from its original version to include the name of the man cited with disturbing the peace.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
