Reckless Endangerment – Colorado Law & Penalties – CRS § 18-3-208

Colorado Revised Statute § 18-3-208 prohibits reckless endangerment, which is “conduct which creates a substantial risk of serious bodily injury to another person.” The offense is a class 2 misdemeanor punishable by up to 120 days in jail and/or up to $750 in fines.

A common defense is that the incident was an accident.

In this article, our Denver Colorado criminal defense attorneys answer the following questions:

• 1. What is reckless endangerment?
• 2. What are the penalties?
• 3. How can a defense attorney help?
• 4. Is it deportable?
• 5. Can the criminal record be sealed?
• Additional Reading

Reckless endangerment is acting in a highly careless way, and it creates a risk that could harm other people.

1. What is reckless endangerment?

To convict you of reckless endangerment in Colorado, prosecutors have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt these elements of the crime:

1. you recklessly engaged in conduct
2. that created a substantial risk of serious bodily injury to another.¹

An example of reckless endangerment is discarding a lit cigarette on a pile of dry grass in front of an occupied house. Dropping the cigarette on dry grass is reckless since there is a significant risk it would start a fire. Plus it is endangerment because the fire could seriously hurt the occupants inside the house.

Recklessness

Reckless conduct is a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise. People are reckless when they consciously disregard a significant risk they created.

For purposes of determining whether a defendant’s conduct was reckless, the jury may take into account both:

1. The defendant’s personal knowledge and experience (which is a subjective standard), and
2. What a reasonable person would have understood under the circumstances (which is an objective standard).²

Serious Bodily Injury

Serious bodily injury means physical harm that involves substantial risk of death or either:

• serious permanent disfigurement,
• protracted loss or impairment of the function of any body part or organ,
• fractures, and/or
• second- or third-degree burns³

2. What are the penalties?

As a class 2 misdemeanor, reckless endangerment carries the following punishment:

• Up to 120 days in jail, and/or
• Up to $750 in fines⁴

However, the maximum prison sentence increases to one (1) year in jail if both:

1. The victim was a mental health professional, and
2. The victim was on duty at the Department of Human Services⁵

Accident is a defense to CRS 18-3-208 charges.

3. How can a defense attorney help?

Defenses against reckless endangerment charges depend on the specific facts of the case. Five common defenses often include (but are not limited to):

1. The defendant’s conduct was accidental, so the defendant’s actions did not rise to the level of recklessness;
2. There was no risk of serious bodily injury from the defendant’s conduct;
3. The defendant was not aware that his/her behavior was creating a substantial risk, and a reasonable person in the same position would not have been aware of the risk;
4. The defendant was falsely accused; and/or
5. The police officers committed misconduct, such as entrapment, an illegal search and seizure, or coercion of a confession.

Self-defense is not a valid defense to charges of reckless endangerment. Self-defense requires a person to act justifiably, while recklessness requires a person to act with conscious disregard of an unjustifiable risk. They are inconsistent states of mind.⁶

4. Is it deportable?

The law is unclear whether a reckless endangerment conviction qualifies as a deportable offense. Any non-citizen facing criminal charges should retain an attorney immediately. The attorney may be able to persuade the district attorney to dismiss or reduce the charge to a non-deportable offense. Learn more about the criminal defense of immigrants.

5. Can the criminal record be sealed?

Yes. Reckless endangerment convictions may be sealed two (2) years after the case ends. But there is no wait to petition for a seal if the charge gets dismissed.⁷ Learn about how to get a criminal record seal in Colorado.

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• Criminalizing Endangerment – Louisiana Law Review.
• Polluters as Perpetrators of Person Crimes: Charging Homicide, Assault, and Reckless Endangerment in the Face of Environmental Crime – Journal of Environment Law & Litigation.
• Offenses Causing Danger – American Journal of Comparative Law.
• Reckless endangerment of a child: How does that differ from child abuse and neglect? – Connecticut Law Tribune.
• Varieties of intention, criminal attempts and endangerment – Legal Studies.

Also see our related articles on reckless driving (CRS 42-4-1401), shooting from a public road (CRS 33-6-126) and Colorado fireworks laws (CRS 12-28-110).

Legal References