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Two Colorado police officers traveling to represent their department at another lawman’s funeral are on desk duty after authorities said they took an alcohol-fueled ride through Wyoming with their emergency lights flashing and a beer cooler in the back seat.

Aurora officers Bradley B. Bickett and Gerald Kirby, each with more than 30 years on the force, are accused of speeding past traffic with their emergency lights on and tossing trash from a window on their way to the South Dakota funeral of a fallen police officer.

Their squad car was pulled over Wednesday after a volunteer firefighter spotted the car driving erratically on a state highway outside Torrington, Wyo., about 50 miles northeast of Cheyenne. Bickett faces charges of driving while impaired, careless driving, and speeding, and Kirby faces charges of littering...

Goshen County Sheriff’s Captain Bryan Morehouse told Denver’s KUSA-TV he smelled alcohol and found beer in a cooler inside the car when he stopped them.

Goshen County Sheriff Donald J. Murphy said yesterday that Bickett’s blood alcohol level tested at 0.08 percent, the level at which he said a driver is presumed to be under the influence. Another test determined his level was 0.077 percent, Murphy said...

Murphy said yesterday that he’s received some complaints from officers in other departments about the arrests. But he insisted his deputies had no choice.

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Denver’s police monitor has released an analysis concluding that Denver police officers have been routinely looking the other way for years, not arresting fellow officers when they catch each other driving drunk.

“It appears reasonable to conclude that off- duty DPD officers may have, in the past, received preferential treatment by not being arrested for DUI violations when there is no related traffic collission,” wrote Richard Rosenthal, the independent monitor for Denver who provides oversight of the police, fire and sheriff’s departments in Denver.

In a four page analysis that is part of his quarterly report, Rosenthal noted that in the six years he has been in his position, no DPD officer has been arrested for DUI by another DPD officer unless they were involved in a traffic collision. He said Denver officers have been arrested five times for DUI, but only after there had been a crash.

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His blood alcohol level measured three times the legal limit when he crashed his Jeep, swore at officers and demanded special treatment... According to an arrest report from the Silverthorne Police Department, off-duty Denver Police Officer Jesse M. Sandoval drove his Jeep Cherokee off the road in the 200 block of Wildernest Road just after 8 p.m. on Feb. 17, 2010.

When officers approached Sandoval, he claimed he was on his cell phone when he swerved off the road, but Silverthorne officers said his speech was slurred, his eyes were watery and pink and he smelled of alcohol. He also stated he had a gun in the vehicle, which was confiscated by Silverthorne Police.

The report says Sandoval identified himself as a Denver Police officer and asked for the responding officers to "help a fellow officer out and take him home."...

"I'll tell you what; we used to take care of police when I used to work in Chicago. We take care of each other. You suck. I have never, ever, ever (expletive) another policeman. And I don't know what you guys do up here," he said. "You guys are being over the top because you think I'm a bad policeman. I'm such a bad person. I didn't do anything you (expletive) haven't done in your lifetime."..."You are the biggest (expletive) I've ever met. I worked in Chicago. Chicago PD and now I work in Denver. You know what, I've worked in two big cities and you know what, this is not the way we treated (expletive) the police, never. God bless you. I hope you feel good about yourself when you go home tonight," Sandoval said.

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ORIGINAL: littlewonder

police officers who get caught drunk driving should get a stiffer sentence for the simple fact that they are the legal authorities, they should know better and for being dumbasses.

I have absolutely zero tolerance for anyone who drinks and drives...none whatsoever and even less for police who get caught.

I can't even begin to tell you how angry I get from drunk drivers.

Any police officer who catches another and lets him off the hook should be fired immediately once it's found to be happening.

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We take care of each other...I've worked in two big cities and you know what, this is not the way we treated (expletive) the police, never.

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ORIGINAL: flcouple2009

none

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ORIGINAL: LillyBoPeep

i can't really add anything except to say my opinion is already well-represented by littlewonder.

dumbasses.
the good ol' boy back-patting thing with cops drives me bananas.

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ORIGINAL: JWriter
Drunk driving, however, is completely disgusting, and, to be driving drunk, with an accomplice, using a cop car, probably while getting paid, is not just one crime, but, several, and, against the community as a whole.

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ORIGINAL: rulemylife
I guess I do have an opinion on this despite my previous statement.

Would you not support those who are in the same job, especially in a dangerous line of work?

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So what of Officer Sandoval's comment to the police who arrested him for drunk driving?

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We take care of each other...I've worked in two big cities and you know what, this is not the way we treated (expletive) the police, never.

What do I think? He's an ass and he should be thrown in jail, lose his license and his badge.

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ORIGINAL: JWriter

You know, for small infractions, I have no problem with cops giving each other breaks, for that matter. It's hard to be fully law-abiding all the time, and, some things should only be enforced when strictly necessary.

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ORIGINAL: JWriter

The police should be held to a higher standard than other citizens, because, one cannot respect those who enforce the law, if they do not actually follow the law, themselves. I have absolute respect for a police officer, though, who does his best to keep himself law-abiding and then goes out of his way to give regular people more benefit of the doubt or breaks in situations where breaks can be given.

You know, for small infractions, I have no problem with cops giving each other breaks, for that matter. It's hard to be fully law-abiding all the time, and, some things should only be enforced when strictly necessary. Drunk driving, however, is completely disgusting, and, to be driving drunk, with an accomplice, using a cop car, probably while getting paid, is not just one crime, but, several, and, against the community as a whole.

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ORIGINAL: rulemylife
Would you not support those who are in the same job, especially in a dangerous line of work?