Cocktails, Lies, and Colorado’s One Percent

By now, everyone has read about the scandal involving Rep. Laura Bradford, R-Colbran, it has been news here since the incident happened almost two weeks ago.

If you missed it, here is the condensed version: After a long day of lawmaking, the tireless Bradford attended an ''official'' mixer at a local Denver bar. The mixer was attended by other legislators, staff, and lobbyists. After a few drinks and possible backroom dealings, Bradford got in her car and drove off.

Bradford was pulled over by police when she turned left from a right-turn, right-hand lane. She subsequently failed a field sobriety test, but was not given a breathalyzer.

This is where the story gets typically Denver. Here, whenever a celebrity, cop, city official, judge, or legislator is pulled over a supervising sergeant is called to the scene. A normal cop is not trusted to fairly handle the sensitive issues of the 1 percent.

The sergeant, once on the scene, cited Bradford for the traffic violations, called her a cab, and gave her back her loaded hand gun - yes Bradford was both drunk, and armed; a misdemeanor in this state at a minimum. Bradford did have a permit for the weapon.

As with most cases in Colorado, the truth becomes fuzzy when the cops show up and this case is no different. The police originally told reporters, and put on their official reports, that Bradford was released because she invoked "legislative privilege."

This privilege of the 1 percent bars law enforcement from keeping a lawmaker from attending official lawmaking functions. In America, drinking with lobbyists is an official function.

Bradford says she did not ask for special treatment, but was extended the privilege by the police when they saw her special one percenter legislator license plate, and after she told them she had to be at the Capitol in the morning..

Unfortunately, we will likely never know the truth. The cops are being told not to talk about the incident and all records are being sealed and not even released to a state legislative investigation committee. The police say the records are not being released because, as usual, they are part of an ''official internal investigation|'' With the gag order on the cops, it is likely Bradford will not only get away with the DUI, but beat the traffic violations as well.

Related News

Man shot dead by police on his doorstep over a Jet Ski accident

On the afternoon of July 20, 2010, Jason Kemp, 31, of Grand Junction was shot in the chest and killed on his doorstep by Colorado State Patrol Trooper Ivan Lawyer.

Kemp was Jet-skiing on the Colorado River prior to the shooting. When he returned home and tried to back into his driveway his Jet Ski slid off his truck and into his neighbor’s yard. No one was injured. After consulting the neighbor and moving the Jet Ski, Kemp and a friend returned to Kemp's apartment. The neighbor called the police to report the accident for insurance purposes.

The Troopers arrived on the scene and suspected Kemp was drunk and wanted to give him a breathalyzer. When Kemp refused to allow the Troopers into his apartment without a warrant, two Troopers attempted to break in the door, while a third Trooper tried to gain access through the back of the apartment.

While breaking down the door, Trooper Lawyer saw Kemp through a gap in the door, pulled his gun, and shot Kemp in the chest killing him.

Lawyer is charged with negligent homicide, second-degree assault, illegal discharge of a firearm, and prohibited use of a weapon. Internal Affairs would not comment on the employment status of Lawyer.

This week a federal judge refused to dismiss a wrongful-death civil suit against sergeant Chad Dunlap for failing to stop the excessive use of force by Lawyer.

Another video showing cop violence

Denver   police officer Kevin Guzman was suspended this week after a video surfaced showing Guzman assaulting a handcuffed shoplifting suspect.

Safety manager Alex Martinez suspended Guzman for four days because Gunman failed to report the violent incident. The Police Protective Association has appealed the suspension saying the use of force against the handcuffed man was justified and within department guidelines.

DUI okay if you're a cop

Off-duty Denver police detective Michael Lemmons, 52, lost control of his motorcycle at 1:20 am on Feb. 11, 2010 and crashed into a telephone pole on 38th Street.

Lemmons, who responding officers said reeked of alcohol, refused to take a blood test twice - even after officers warned him his refusal would result in a year suspension of his drivers license.

The Denver District Attorney's Office refused to press criminal charges against Lemmons, and Lemmons was able to avoid loosing his license when Cpl. Danny Dunn of the DUI unit failed to appear in court to testify against Lemmons.

Lemmons is now appealing a 92-day suspension for drunk and careless driving.

Denver cops caught changing witness statements

Police here overwrite witness descriptions to match suspects later taken into custody according to testimony given by Detective Robin Gray in a recent criminal case.

Gray was describing a 5-year-old electronic case reporting system that replaces original witness statements with suspect descriptions written by police during investigation or after an arrest. The result is that police records will show the suspect matching witness descriptions perfectly, when in fact, the descriptions were written by police to match the person arrested for the offense.

Denver defense attorney Michael Sheehan told reporters, "Their method is completely flawed. Who knows how many people's due-process rights have been violated.''

Lt. Matt Murray, spokesman for the police department, said, "We have some inconsistencies we need to address in the department."

Prominent civil-rights attorney David Lane told The Denver Post, "These guys aren't stupid. They understand how the system works. When a cop falsifies police reports, it's a crime."

Commission says it's okay for cops to lie

Denver Detective Jay Estrada is back on the force after a civil service panel overturned his firing for lying during an investigation of a hit-and|-run.

Estrada received a tip about a vehicle that might have been involved in the crime, but failed to follow up on the lead. When asked about the lead, Estrada lied and said he never received the tip. Estrada continued to lie to supervisors and the Internal Affairs Bureau unit investigators played back the telephone call of Estrada receiving the call.

Estrada is the seventh of 10 officers reinstated by the panel after being fired for lying about official investigations.

Manager of Safety, Alex Martinez, who criticized former independent safety monitor Richard Rosenthal for being too tough on lying cops, now plans to appeal the panel’s decision to reinstate the lying police officer.

Denver police chief demotes rival

New Police Chief Robert White demoted Division Chief Tracie Keesee last week after an anonymous email criticizing White circulated through the department.

Keesee was widely favored for the job of Denver's police chief by rank-and-file officers.

White told The Denver Post, "I don't want to talk about personnel matters - I don't think that would be appropriate."