DENVER - Denver Police Department documents indicate Colorado State. Rep. Laura Bradford (R-Grand Junction) failed roadside sobriety tests after she was pulled over on Jan. 25. In the documents, an officer accuses his sergeant, Benita Packard, of trying to cover up details about that stop. The internal affairs department is investigating.
Officials say Bradford was pulled over just after 10 p.m. when an officer saw her making an illegal turn near Capitol Hill. During the traffic stop, the officer smelled alcohol on Bradford's breath, and she admitted she had been drinking, police said.
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Denver Polcie released documents from the Internal Affairs Bureau showing the officer asked Bradford if she had been drinking. She responded, "Yes, one glass of wine."
The documents show after the officer had Bradford perform roadside sobriety tests, and she failed each one. The officer estimated her blood-alcohol level to be about .20. When asked again about how much alcohol she had consumed, Bradford told the officer, "Three glasses of wine."
The responding officer had called his supervisor, Sgt. Packard, after seeing Bradford's legislative license plates. The sergeant told the officer not to cite Bradford with a DUI and was told not to indicate it on the traffic ticket. A taxi was called for Bradford to drive her to her destination.
The officer later came forward to Denver Police leadership saying Bradford had gotten special treatment.
"We made a mistake. In [Denver Police Chief Robert White's] words, he's critically concerned with the actions of the supervisor," Denver Police Lt. Matt Murray said at a news conference addressing the issue on Jan. 31. "We've initiated an Internal Affairs case, but with all that being said, we were wrong."
Murray says when the cab got to the scene, the sergeant asked Bradford if she had anything valuable in the car, and Bradford said she had a gun.
"The sergeant cleared the weapon to make sure it was safe, put it back in [Bradford's purse], and then instructed the officer not to tell anyone about the weapon," Murray said.
It is a state misdemeanor offense to possess a firearm while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. The documents released Wednesday say Bradford did not have a concealed weapons permit when the officer checked on Jan. 31.
The legislative ethics committee formed to investigate if Bradford used her position to influence police during the traffic stop was dropped on Feb. 10 citing a lack of evidence.
House Speaker Frank McNulty released this statement: "The bipartisan House Ethics Panel did due diligence, and unanimously found that Rep. Bradford did not break House ethics rules. As a result of the Ethics Committee's findings, Rep. Bradford has been reinstated as chair of House Local Government Committee."
Bradford's attorney says he is not going to comment pending the ongoing traffic case against her.
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