On March 22, Katie Bolger, Chief of Staff for Ward 2 City Councilman Paul Cunningham and one-time Green Party candidate, walked home from a night drinking. That’s where it got weird.
Bolger was apparently crossing Speedway near 5th Avenue in a generally poorly lit area when a cop in an unmarked police vehicle almost struck her. For understandable reasons, the police office stopped to talk to Bolger, who then, according to the police report, went for belligerence as a strategy. A selection of quotes attributed to Bolger from the police report:
“Fuck you, motherfucker. You almost hit me.”
“You should be ashamed you almost hit me. That’s on you!”
“We don’t have enough money to respond to burglaries or car accidents, but we have time to respond to fucking jaywalkers.”
“You might want to call [police chief] Villasenor just for the fuck of it.”
“Protect the fucking town, you motherfucker.”
“This is why we should support more money for fucking cops? Good PR.”
Officers offered to give Bolger a ride home, however Bolger refused the offer stating she would rather go to jail than take a ride. When Ted Prezelski came to pick Bolger up, she demanded he record the situation (grabbing his bicep and reminding him that he works for her) when she refused to sign the citation. Getting her wish, she was transported to the Pima County Jail.
Bolger declined to comment, but her boss Cunningham remarked that Bolger exercised “bad judgment” and the matter would be dealt with internally.
Cunningham almost certainly would rather not deal with this sort of issue, because inevitably it reminds people of his own alcohol-related behavior issues, most famously on a San Diego TREO junket in May of 2012.
It should be noted this information and a copy of the police report went out in an pseudonymous email last night addressed to Mayor Rothschild, but sent to nearly everyone in the Tucson media. The sender seemingly has a grudge against Cunningham’s office (the email referred to Prezelski as “Ted Pretzel-ski” for some not-terribly funny reason).
Read the report (in PDF form) here.
This article appears in Mar 28 – Apr 3, 2013.
Obviously Mr.Cunningham isn’t the only one in his circle who drinks to excess.
This would have only been better if they would have caught Paul and Katie drinking together. One thing she says is true TPD are M.F.s
Dealth with “internally” like his drunken sexually harassment a$$ was. Pathetic.
Way to go TPD – they left her phone number and Driver’s License number visible in the report. OMG.
So, is Cunningham going to fire this person, or help keep it quiet? Is this person going to get the same treatment as John and Jane Q Public? Unfortunately she’ll probably skate by with little to no punishment. The entire corrupt and inept city clowncil need to be held acountble for their many failures in the city of Tucson.
Hard to cover this up when it is out in the open. Just because she is a liberal doesn’t mean she get off. Make her pay like the rest of us wold have to do.
To some people, alcohol is poison.
If only a well-lit intersection with a traffic light and a crosswalk like 4th/Speedway wasn’t so far away.
So what then the Tucson Clowncil’s policy about behavior and ethics, done after Paul’s binge drinking escapade in San Diego less than a year ago?
Clowncilman Cunningham shows up late, if at all to the meetings, dressed as if he just got up and whines about plastic bags and speaks out of all three sides of his piehole.
What about his Chief of Staff and her multiple run-ins with the law. Wait, the media won’t cover that or what Clowncilman Cunningham overpays her, so that she can go to school?
She should be fired and the Clowncilman should do this city a favor and resign.
Paul Cunningham’s father was in politics, he’s just following in his father’s footsteps. I don’t like how his behavior as a drunk frat boy was swept under the carpet. He was his response:
I admit and take full responsibility for becoming intoxicated, acting unprofessionally and making inappropriate comments.
At this time, I continue to make amends to co-workers and constituents, participate in an alcohol treatment program, and perform the duties of my office to the best of my ability.
The report documents what I have already acknowledged; I made inappropriate comments that occurred at a bar after-hours. The incident was not during any formal part of the trip’s program. The incident did not involve physical contact or unwanted sexual advances.
I wish to thank all those family and friends in the community who have recently offered their love and support.
I believe that it is time to move forward with my personal and professional responsibilities and I will not comment further on this issue.
So, let me get this straight, because he sexually harassed women at a bar that wasn’t part of any “formal” part of the trip’s program its OK? He also seems to be in denial about what sexual harassment is as he claims that “no unwanted sexual advanced” were made, but weren’t the comments sexually related?!? So if you don’t ask a woman to sleep with you then its is OK to make sexually inappropriate comments to her?
At the end he is really P.O.’d as he talks about moving forward and not commenting. Well, I sure hope somebody brings this up in his next election as voters won’t sweep it under the rug as easily he and mayor have.
It’s not a crime to yell at a cop. It’s not even a crime to yell obscenities at one. In general cops get way too much respect in this society. They should be constantly questioned and challenged and overseen, rather than given the implicit trust and faith that so many people grant them. Ms. Bolger got a little too belligerent, perhaps, but I don’t blame her for being angry – I have seen cops in that part of town driving in a totally irresponsible, reckless manner, in one case even blasting down residential streets without even headlights on and nearly hitting people just out walking their dog – and when TPD was called to complain about that instance, the operator gave some song and dance about the officer in hot pursuit or something. That’s BS. We shouldn’t have to give up safety and security in the name of safety and security. Police should have to live by the laws that it’s their job to enforce, not careen around the city like some kind of untouchable, sadistic overlords. Ms. Bolger might have a problem holding her liquor, but this incident is really yet another example of the way police are more a problem than a solution to anything.
Also the Weakly has proved its Weakness once again by sensationalizing this, and even leaving her home phone number in the PDF. wtf, Weakly?
TPD should respond to the fact that they wasted many $1000s of dollars on this incident, and certainly many like it. A helicopter for this?! 4 cruisers with how many cops?! Simply unnecessary and unprofessional.
It sounds like she wasn’t even breaking a law crossing at 5th and Speedway, where there is an unmarked crosswalk.
Who it was and whether someone is belligerent or drunk doesn’t warrant such a response, and if it does in TPDs opinion, something is seriously wrong in the Dept.
‘Unmarked crosswalk?’ As in, not marked? As in, no actual markings to indicate a crosswalk? As in, the street?
No, officer, don’t you see? This is an unmarked crosswalk. It’s there, there’s just no markings to make it visible to the human eye.
Apparently you’ve never paid attention… legally there is a crosswalk at every intersection that has sidewalks, whether they are marked or not. You can legally cross at these.
This is how state law reads;
AZS 28-793. Crossing at other than crosswalk
A. A pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles on the roadway.
B. A pedestrian crossing a roadway at a point where a pedestrian tunnel or overhead pedestrian crossing has been provided shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles on the roadway.
C. Between adjacent intersections at which traffic control signals are in operation, pedestrians shall not cross at any place except in a marked crosswalk.
“Pedestrians have the legal right to cross a roadway at and between almost all intersections. Drivers must yield to pedestrians at all marked and unmarked crosswalks.”
-ADOT manual “Sharing the Road with Pedestrians” available through the COT website.
She was in an unmarked crosswalk at the intersection of 5th and speedway; She was not between two adjacent traffic controls (the next one was at 6th ave; thus she had the right of way. Pretty simple statute to read; Is TPD not aware of state law? This should get tossed out of court in a heart beat.
Does TPD have speed monitoring devices on their vehicles? It would be interesting to find out just how fast this officer was really traveling…..
Glad the Weekly had the back-bone to run this story – the Star ran from it.
This was absolutely shameful conduct by a public official. And for Katie to think she could use her cheesy little “chief of staff” title to escape the charges is absolutely pathetic – and in violation of the City’s Code of Conduct rules (she should be dismissed).
What a witch – although I hear she’s been like that since that house fell on her sister.
With all the boozing going on at Ward 2, I guess they’ll have to outfit yet another Ward 2 City vehicle with a breathalyzer-ignition-lock, right Paul?
In Katie’s case, can you outfit a broom with a breathalyzer-ignition-lock?
The City, and in particular Ward 2, will continue to regress as long as the likes of Cunningham and Bolger are “serving” in any capacity.
Katie, hop on that broom of yours and fly out of town – and take that worthless Cunningham with you.
Don’t people who request public records from the Tucson Police Department have to fill out forms? Even when you’re in a fender-bender and want your own record, you have to do that, right? And that in itself is a public record, right? Something that somebody in the media could request … unless …
… personal information not redacted? Police report issued VERY quickly after said alleged offense? Whattya bet that there isn’t any formal request for this report, which would only happen when? When someone from TPD “leaks” it to the press and public.
no way, a jay walking cover up. oh, we are doomed.
This woman and her elitest attitude makes me sick. While I think that TPD has their priorities screwed up and brings on a lot of disrespect themselves, this broad needs to be made an example.
It’s strange, that in the report, they blacked out her age and date of birth, but not her address and home phone number. Go figure. :-/
The TPD cares more about their pensions, pay, and benefits than they do about their jobs and the citizends of Tucson. I applaude Kaite for taking on these scum bags and their union.
My husband and brother-in-law (RIP) say: “Don’t argue with a cop”. And they should know better.
“Don’t argue with a cop” – is the kind of sheeple (sheep/people) drivel that is quickly eroding away at our civil liberties.
As if cops are never wrong or something. If anything they have the exact opposite of superior intelligence.
True Story: Talking with an older lady yesterday. She says that her son was going to school for _____ (I dont recall), but there were too many classes, so he became a cop instead.
“Don’t argue with a cop” – Please.