In a late bid for 2011's award for Most Brazen Act of Chutzpah, a Denver cop who was kicked off the force for doing 143 mph in a 55 zone while intoxicated is appealing his dismissal on grounds that the penalty was too harsh.
Derrick Curtis Saunders was arrested on June 17, 2010, for his high-speed run caught by a Colorado State trooper in Arapahoe County. As if doing eighty-eight over the limit (at night, in a friend's car, with a passenger) wasn't bad enough, he blew a 0.089 blood-alcohol level; Colorado's legal limit is 0.08.
Saunders plead guilty to reckless and impaired driving charges, served a five-day jail sentence, paid a fine, did a hundred hours of community service, and was fired by Manager of Safety Alex Martinez on December 7. He is now contesting that termination.
The appeal has been filed by the Denver Police Protective Association, and claims that the pink slip is, in part, "disproportionate to the offenses alleged and/or is excessive so as to be punitive rather than corrective in nature."
Keep in mind that in 2009, Saunders was also charged with, tried and acquitted of waving his gun at the counter crew at a McDonald's after he allegedly grew impatient waiting for his order.
So, you know, there's that too.
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