Bradford won’t face gun charge in Denver traffic stop

Sentinel file photo

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Staff

Sentinel file photo

By Charles Ashby
Tuesday, February 7, 2012

DENVER — The Denver District Attorney’s Office has decided not to file gun charges against Rep. Laura Bradford.

The district attorney’s office announced Monday prosecutors concluded they do not have enough evidence for a conviction, in part because no blood-alcohol test was performed.

Denver police stopped the Collbran Republican Jan. 25 on suspicion of driving while intoxicated after she left a downtown Denver bar meeting with former legislators and lobbyists.

At the time, Bradford told a police officer and supervisor she was at a legislative function. As a result, the supervisor determined that a clause in the Colorado Constitution that gives lawmakers privilege from being arrested during the session on anything other than treason or a felony prevented them from detaining her long enough to give her a Breathalyzer or blood-alcohol test.

During the traffic stop, Bradford allowed officers to search her vehicle, but told them she had a gun mounted beneath the driver’s seat.

Police, however, did not include that in their initial report, nor did they issue her a citation for having a concealed weapon, for which she has a permit, while intoxicated.

But in a stunning reversal last week, Denver police apologized to Bradford, saying the supervisor falsely told them Bradford had invoked the privilege and withheld information about the handgun in her report. At the same time, they forwarded a recommendation to the district attorney’s office that it file an additional charge of carrying a weapon while intoxicated.

Unlike a DUI, that law does not carry a minimum blood-alcohol level, police said.

Police have said they could smell alcohol on Bradford’s breath during the traffic stop. She later admitted to having three glass of wine over a 3½-hour period.

Bradford said little about the announcement other than she was “glad of the news.”

Bradford was issued citations on suspicion of an illegal lane change and careless driving. She has said she plans to challenge those citations in court.