Aurora Councilmember Rob Andrews voiced concerns about publicity during DUI arrest, video shows

AURORA | Aurora City Councilmember Rob Andrews offered his first public remarks Monday about drunken driving charges he faces after his Jan. 17 arrest, asking for privacy and mentioning what he said are legal restraints.

“I was pulled over by the Aurora Police Department and cited in connection with the DUI allegation,” Andrews said during the city council meeting Monday. “It’s an active legal matter, so I cannot comment on the specifics.”

The meeting and his comments come after police released his arrest report and officer worn body cam video from the arrest. In those releases, Andrews hands an officer his city council ID card while being questioned for a possible DUI. He later told the officer he was concerned about his arrest going public, according to police records.

His blood alcohol level tests that night were logged as 0.252, more than three times the limit for a charge of driving drunk, according to police records.

Andrews repeated comments Monday he’d made in a statement the morning after his arrest that he provided to the Sentinel and other media.

“I will say clearly, though, like every citizen, I have the right to due process, and there are parts of what has been claimed and documented that I don’t believe are true, including inconsistencies I am addressing through the proper channels,” Andrews said Monday.

Andrews did not say what he believed to be unfactual.

“Accountability has to be more than words,” he said. “While this plays out, I am voluntarily registering for a restorative justice class, working on meeting with and working with MADD Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and taking proactive steps to ensure this never happens again in any form.”The morning after his arrest, Andrews issued a statement to the Sentinel admitting to the charge, apologizing to the community and insisting he would accept the consequences and make amends.

Aurora Police body camera video of the Jan. 17 initial contact and arrest of Andrews shows the officer approaching a pickup truck Andrews was driving. When the officer asks for Andrews’ driver’s license and car registration, Andrews immediately hands him his city council identification card, attached to a lanyard. 

City officials say the cards are primarily used for admission to city rooms and facilities.

In the video, the officer hands the lanyard back to Andrews, and Andrews then hands the officer a driver’s license.

The officer, in his police report, noted the council identification handoff.

The encounter, roadside test and nearly two-hour arrest, blood test and booking are unremarkable, as depicted in the body-worn camera video of both officers involved in the encounter.

A man Andrews said was his adult stepson was in the cab of the pickup during the arrest. Police could be heard telling him he could take the truck and Andrews’ belongings from where the truck was pulled over by police.

During the testing and booking process inside the Aurora detention center, Andrews is calm and cooperative the entire time. The arresting officer appeared agreeable and professional during the process.

As the officer explains to Andrews the police and legal process about to take place, Andrews at one point tells the officer that “I am most concerned about the public not knowing about it,” as heard in the video recording.

The officer tells Andrews that police policy is not to release the information about such arrests.

“We don’t tell anybody,” the officer says, but he explains that the arrest and information are public information and available upon request.

Andrews declined to comment earlier on Monday about his remarks to the officer and why he handed the officer his council identification.

The Sentinel and other news media acquired the arrest report and body camera video after a Colorado Criminal Justice Records request.

News of Andrews’ arrest was first made public Jan. 18 at about 6 a.m. in social media posts made by former Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky.

Jurinsky lost her at-large council seat to Andrews and fellow newly elected Councilmember Alli Jackson.

Andrews did not respond to questions about why he handed the officer his city council identification card instead of his driver’s license, or provide context on his comment on being able to keep the public from learning about his arrest.

In his post-arrest statement, however, Andrews apologized and said he would be accountable for the crime. 

“I take full responsibility for my decision. I am deeply sorry — to my family, to the people I serve, and to everyone who expects better from me,” Andrews said. “I am grateful no one was hurt. That does not lessen the seriousness of what happened. Driving when I was not fit to drive put others at risk, and that is on me.”

Andrews said last week he was “cooperating fully” with police and prosecutors “and working closely with my family and counsel as this moves forward.”

The Aurora City Council meets Monday night for the first time since Andrews’ arrest, and it is unclear whether he, or other city lawmakers, will address the issue.

If convicted, the charge would not impact his ability to serve in public office, according to city codes. In 2018, former Councilmember Nicole Johnston was accused of driving while her ability was impaired and continued her council term with relatively little controversy. Johnston’s charge was later converted to a deferred sentence.

Andrews, a Democrat, indicated in his statement that he would continue in his at-large city council term, which he won in the Nov. 4 election last year. 

“Accountability has to mean more than words. I am committed to doing what restorative justice asks of all of us — naming the harm, learning from it, and taking concrete steps to repair trust,” Andrews said. “I will follow through on the consequences, do what’s needed to ensure this never happens again, and continue working to earn back the confidence of this community. I am sorry. I will do better, and I will prove it through my actions.”

Details of Andrews’ arrest

The arrest incident began just after 9:30 p.m. Jan. 17,  officers said they saw Andrews commit multiple driving violations before pulling him over for a traffic stop.

“We observed a red pick-up truck make a left-hand turn onto (South) Chambers Road from (East) Florida Ave.,” the report said. “The pick-up truck made an improper turn… during the turn, the pick-up truck almost struck the east curb. The truck then drove north before making a U-turn and driving south on (South) Chambers Road.”

The report said the truck was weaving between two lanes near South Chambers Road and South Chambers Circle. Previously, Andrews confirmed in a statement his irregular driving when it was reported he was arrested for a DUI. 

Andrews said that on Saturday night, “I was pulled over by Aurora Police after making an improper U-turn. After sobriety testing, officers determined I was not fit to drive.”

The report also alleged that when an officer asked Andrews for his driver’s license, he handed the officers his city council identification card instead. After handing officers the correct identification, he said he was unable to present his car insurance because his phone was broken, according to the police report. 

When questioned about where he was coming from and where he was heading, Andrews told officers he had come from an event at Stanley Market Place and had to meet his son to help him jump his vehicle, according to the report. 

Police said they suspected Andrews was inebriated, smelling alcoholic beverages on his breath. Andrews told officers he had “two gin drinks,” the report said.

Andrews performed and failed a roadside sobriety test, and shortly after, the officers said in the report that they determined he was driving under the influence, and they arrested him and transported him to the Aurora Municipal Jail. 

“Based on the results of the roadside maneuvers and the odor of alcohol, I informed Mr. Andrews that I believed he was driving under the influence of alcohol,” the officer said in the report. 

He agreed to a blood-alcohol level test from a breath analyzer, police said.

At the jail, after waiting the required “deprivation period,” Andrews was given a breathalyzer that did not work. He finally passed a valid test at 11:02 p.m.

His blood alcohol level was 0.252, according to the police report. The blood alcohol limit for a driving while ability impaired charge is 0.05-0.08. A blood alcohol limit of 0.08 and above triggers a driving under the influence charge.

Andrews was taken in on a detox hold to the Aurora Municipal Detention Center and released Sunday, according to Joe Moylan. The report said Andrew’s personal belongings and vehicle were given to his stepson at the scene, per Andrew’s request. 

Andrews is chairperson of the city council’s Public Safety Committee. He was among four new Democratic members elected to the city council, along with At-Large Council member Alli Jackson, Gianina Horton in Ward I and Amy Wiles in Ward II.  The election allowed Democrats to take control of the city council, which had been under Republican majority control for the past four years.