Boulder – A man convicted of reckless driving after he was alleged to have been driving under the influence of marijuana will not lose his City Council seat.
However, the council reprimanded E. Richard Polk on Monday night for showing a disregard for public safety.
“As elected officials and community leaders, we have an obligation to exemplify and uphold the legal and ethical expectations established by the law,” the reprimand reads. “When we disregard these, we undermine both respect for the law and our credibility as public officials.”
A city charter provision says that council members must leave office if convicted of a “crime or felony.” After hearing a presentation on a report by two outside attorneys who investigated the provision, the council decided that Polk’s conviction is not a serious crime and does not merit dismissal.
A much bigger debate sprouted when the council discussed whether Polk’s reprimand should mention allegations of drug use.
Boulder police originally ticketed Polk, 57, for driving under the influence of drugs after stopping him on Sept. 25. According to an arrest report, when Polk rolled down his window, a police officer smelled marijuana smoke, and Polk said: “Wait, can we do something else? I am a Boulder City Council member. I’m embarrassed.”
Officers reportedly confiscated a pipe and a small amount of marijuana from Polk’s vehicle.
Prosecutors in February agreed to a guilty plea to reckless driving, a misdemeanor, after acknowledging that they may not be able to prove the case, in part because a test did not reveal the presence of marijuana in Polk’s urine.
Monday, Polk again apologized for his conduct. But, citing scientific evidence presented in the case, he denied that he was under the influence of drugs or posed a danger to others.
“The entirety of the evidence in the case, which goes well beyond what has been reported and commented on by the media, supports these assertions,” he said.
The reprimand makes mention of Polk’s original ticket for driving under the influence of drugs. But council members said that shouldn’t be taken as a judgment on Polk.
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
