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Des Moines NBC affiliate WHO-TV has obtained police reports and squad car video from the night state Rep. Kerry Burt (D-Waterloo) was arrested by Ankeny Police on suspicion of drunk driving. In the video, Burt tells the arresting officers that he had just been drinking with the governor and tries to avoid arrest by repeatedly stating that he is a state legislator.
Burt was arrested at 1:51a.m. on Feb. 11 apparently after a reception at the Embassy Suites in downtown Des Moines attended by Gov. Chet Culver and “several dozen politicians and others,” according to a representative of the governor’s staff. The governor was back home at Terrace Hill by 8:55 p.m. that night, nearly five hours before Burt was arrested, his staff said.
While being held by police, Burt called House Speaker Pat Murphy (D-Dubuque), who did not answer, and Department of Public Safety Communications Director Courtney Greene. Murphy has repeatedly stood behind Burt, saying recently that he was “100 percent with him.”
When arrested, Burt had a blood-alcohol level of .131, higher than the .08 legal limit in Iowa. His trial has been delayed until August to give a judge time to consider a motion to suppress evidence.
The video and acompanying story, by WHO-TV’s Dave Price, is below.
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