Video frame from Aurora City Council recording.
Audio By Carbonatix
Aurora Councilman Rob Andrews faced his constituents on Monday, January 26, the first time since a drunk driving arrest where he reportedly flashed his City Council ID and blew three times the legal limit.
“I take the situation seriously, and I understand the responsibility that comes with public service,” Andrews said during Monday’s city council meeting. “I have spent my entire career thus far as a community leader, working with various nonprofits and board and commissions.
On January 17, Andrews was pulled over near South Chambers Road and East Florida Avenue after allegedly making wide turns and driving his red Ford F-250 in two lanes. When Aurora Police stopped him and asked if he’d been drinking, the councilman said he had “two drinks of gin” at the Stanley Marketplace, about eight miles from where he was pulled over, according to an APD arrest affidavit. He then blew a .252 breath alcohol content during his breathalyzer test, the affidavit shows, which is more than three times Colorado’s .08 legal limit.
Andrews made it obvious he was an elected leader during his arrest. When officers pulled him over, he handed over his City Council ID card instead of his driver’s license. Body-worn camera footage released by 9News on January 23 shows Andrews telling officers “I’m mostly concerned about the public not knowing about” his arrest.
In the video, an officer explains to Andrews that “we don’t go telling everybody” about an arrest, “but everything that we do is open to public record” and accessible through a records request, which is how his arrest affidavit and body-cam footage came to light. Andrews responds by asking “how do you get that sealed?”
“I have no idea,” the officer says.
In a written statement released the day after his arrest, Andrews said “I am sorry. I will do better.” On Monday, Andrews told 9News that he has no plans to resign from his council seat.
Monday was his first chance to speak from the dais, but Andrews didn’t address what seemed like efforts to hide or avoid his arrest. Instead, he started his speech by defending himself with doubt about APD’s description of his arrest, noting that his case still has to play out in court. He didn’t specify what he part of APD’s report he believes is wrong, however.
“There are parts of what has been claimed and documented that I don’t believe are true, including inconsistencies that I am addressing through the proper channels,” Andrews said. “Like every citizen, I have a right to due process.”
He ended his apology by saying “out of respect for my family, I appreciate the privacy.”
Andrews said that since his arrest, he has voluntarily signed himself up for “a restorative justice class,” has scheduled a meeting with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), and is “working to make sure this never happens again.” Restorative Justice classes or training teach people how to their crimes harm others, according to the Aurora Conflict Center, which contracted with the city launch a restorative justice program in 2023.
Andrews currently serves as the head of the Public Safety, Courts and Civil Service committee for City Council, which doesn’t have a scheduled meeting for another two weeks. His public safety position when he ran for mayor in 2023 and later city councilman last year focused on community policing, restoring trust between the police and community and expanding restorative justice programs, like the one he said he signed up for.
Nearly 33,000 Aurora voters elected Andrews to his at-large seat last November. He was top vote-getter in an election that brought in a new slate of progressive leaders, who flipped the council’s conservative majority. According to 9News, none of the other five progressive councilmembers believe he should resign his council seat.
Although public comment periods at Aurora’s city council meetings can get nasty, no one mentioned Andrews’s arrest during the public comments. However, members of Denver-Aurora Community Action Committee (DACAC), an advocacy group, called on APD Chief Todd Chamberlain to resign. Ryan Stitzel, the DACAC chair, said Chamberlain “has repeatedly excused the actions of racist, killer cops” as the group continues calls for a harsher response from the city to the fatal shootings of Rajon Belt-Stubblefield last August, Kilyn Lewis in 2024 and others.
