Colorado councilman accused of going to meeting drunk, trying to evade arrest

A city councilman in Brighton, Colorado, was accused of trying to get out of a DUI arrest, leading the council to launch an investigation into his possible abuse of power, local outlets reported.

Kris Jordinelli, 64, was accused of driving drunk to a council meeting on Aug. 17. When investigators showed up at his home, several blocks away from City Hall, Jordinelli asked them if they knew who he was and then said “you don’t want to mess with me” before shutting the door, the Centennial Citizen reported.

At the time, Jordinelli attributed the incident to a medical issue, the outlet reported.

Jordinelli and the Brighton City Council did not immediately respond to requests for comment from McClatchy News.

Officers wrote in a police report obtained by KDVR that was filed at the time of the incident that Jordinelli was “very intoxicated” when he arrived at the City Council meeting and that two city officials walked him to his home nearby. When police arrived at Jordinelli’s house, they found him “slow moving” with “red watery eyes” and said his speech was slurred, according to the report.

Jordinelli told officers that they had “no right” to be there and insisted that he was fine, the report said. They went back and forth until Jordinelli eventually said that the officers didn’t want to mess with him and shut the door, the report said.

The City Council voted unanimously on Nov. 23 to investigate Jordinelli’s actions. Jordinelli was not included in the vote, Fox 31 reported.

The vote comes about a year after Jordinelli said he was under the influence of alcohol and medication during a virtual City Council meeting, in which he went on an odd rant about growing up on a farm and seeing animals eat each other, Colorado Politics reported. At that time, council members sent someone to Jordan’s home to check on him and voted to censure his comments, the publication said.

Jordinelli’s first court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 7, 2022, the Centennial Citizen reported. He faces a count of misdemeanor driving under the influence, according to Fox 31 and the police report.

This story was originally published December 1, 2021 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Colorado councilman accused of going to meeting drunk, trying to evade arrest."