ANKENY - New details in a report released by Ankeny Police claim State Rep. Kerry Burt told police he had been out drinking with Gov. Chet Culver the night he was arrested on drunken driving charges.
Burt's attorney disputes the report, and Culver's office says the governor joined Burt and others for dinner and a reception that night but was home before 9 p.m.
Ankeny Police arrested Burt, a Democratic state lawmaker from Waterloo, in the early morning hours of Feb. 11 and charged him with first-offense operating while intoxicated. According to the report, Burt told police he had hit a concrete median. His 2004 Lexus SUV suffered an estimated $10,000 in damage, the report said.
The report said the police officer asked Burt how much he had been drinking when Burt told him it was not how much he had to drink but who he was drinking with.
"Mr. Burt took a step forward towards this officer and placed his right hand onto this officer's police radio microphone and stated in a soft voice 'the governor'," the police report said.
Burt's attorney, Matt Boles, took issue with the information in police report.
"There's several comments made in the course of the (traffic) stop and interviews of Kerry that, on the written page, look out of context," Boles said. "One of them was where he had been that evening. There's a line (in the report) that he had been drinking with the governor. That's inaccurate. He was not drinking with the governor. He had been at an event, he went down the street with some legislators, and they had some drinks."
A statement from Gov. Chet Culver's office said on the evening of Feb. 10, Culver went to the Embassy Suites hotel in downtown Des Moines for dinner and a reception hosted by the Iowa Pharmacy Association.
Shortly after 8 p.m., Culver joined about 12-15 people, including Burt, for dinner at the hotel's restaurant, the governor's office said. Others joining Culver for dinner included lawmakers and members of the public, the statement said.
"The governor stayed with the dinner group for about 45 minutes and then was driven by Trooper Bogdanski directly to Terrace Hill, where he arrived at 8:55 p.m. and remained for the rest of the night with his family," the statement said. "The governor was not in the presence of Representative Burt at any time that night after leaving the Embassy Suites restaurant."
After his arrest, Burt tried to contact House Speaker Pat Murphy from the booking room, but got his answering machine, the report said. Burt then contacted Courtney Greene, public information officer for the Iowa Department of Public Safety, and former Culver staff member.
"During the processing, this officer talked with Mr. Burt about his arrest and concerns Mr. Burt had about the fallout of the arrest," the report said. "Mr. Burt stated several times that Ms. Green (sic) was going to be upset with him, knowing Mr. Burt was out tonight drinking with the governor, and Ms. Green told him to call her if he was to be out drinking. Mr. Burt stated he was drinking shots and doesn't handle shots very well."
Burt, 44, has pleaded innocent to the drunken driving charges and is scheduled to stand trail Aug. 24 in Polk County District Court.
Pat Kinney contributed to this report.
Posted in Local on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 12:00 am Updated: 6:38 pm.
© Copyright 2009, wcfcourier.com, 501 Commercial St. Waterloo, IA | Terms of Service and Privacy Policy