AURORA — It was perhaps the most embarrassing scene the Police Department has had to face in recent memory: two officers getting pulled over in Wyoming for drinking and driving and throwing beer cans from their cruiser while on the way to the funeral of a fallen officer in South Dakota.
The two Aurora officers resigned shortly after the incident.
Now the city may make it a fireable offense for anyone to drink alcohol or do drugs in a marked city vehicle, whether on or off duty.
The idea was discussed Thursday by the Aurora Public Safety and Courts Committee.
The city has policies and disciplines for many things but could not terminate someone for such behavior.
“Obviously, what happened in Wyoming is pretty embarrassing,” said assistant city attorney Dion Arguelles. “This is a deficiency that hasn’t been addressed.”
In August, Aurora police officers Bradley Bickett and Gerald Kirby were traveling to South Dakota for the funeral of Rapid City police Officer Nick Armstrong, who was killed in a shootout after a routine traffic stop.
While passing through Torrington, Wyo., a witness reported that an Aurora police car was speeding with its lights flashing to clear traffic. Someone said beer cans were being thrown out of the police car.
A sheriff’s captain pulled the car over and smelled alcohol on Bickett’s breath. He and Kirby were arrested; Bickett was charged with driving while impaired, and Kirby with littering.
The incident made headlines nationwide, and Aurora police and others in the city took the news hard.
At Thursday’s meeting, the committee decided to send the resolution back for further tweaking before sending it to the full City Council for consideration. Wording needed to change so that officers — while performing legitimate covert operations and drug busts — wouldn’t be considered violators of the resolution.
“I have undercovers who might drink a beer as part of their role playing,” Police Chief Dan Oates told the committee.
Carlos Illescas: 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com
