Former Douglas County deputy charged with DUI, assault; judge allows California treatment

Andrew Sanders, 40, a former commander with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, was arrested Feb. 7 after Parker police say they watched his pickup weave between lanes and pulled him over, authorities said. Sanders faces driving under the influence, third-degree assault, obstructing a peace officer, careless driving and a lane-change/failure-to-stay-in-one-lane violation; he was released on a $1,000 personal recognizance bond and later fired by the sheriff’s office.

Parker police account that a sergeant first observed Sanders’ vehicle weaving at about 7:52 p.m.; the stop has been variously located as Bradbury Parkway and Hitching Post Circle, Jordan Road and Bradbury Parkway, or on southbound Jordan Road north of Mainstreet. Sanders was off duty and driving a personal vehicle at the time, according to the arrest affidavit details available to reporters.

Officers say Sanders refused roadside field sobriety testing, would not roll down his window or look directly at a female officer, and told them he was returning from a "daddy-daughter dance" though no children were in the car. Police reported glassy eyes, slurred and slow speech, and that Sanders stumbled as he walked to the sidewalk during the traffic stop.

Police obtained a warrant to draw Sanders’ blood and transported him to HCA HealthOne South Parker ER for a court-ordered sample. The affidavit alleges he repeatedly refused to consent, had to be restrained so ER staff could take his blood, used profanity toward a female Parker officer and spat at her. Police wrote, "When an officer looked at her watch while waiting for a jail transport, Sanders told her, 'Yeah, look at your watch, (expletive)' and spit at her." Local charging documents list the assault count in some filings as third-degree assault of a police officer by bodily fluids.

Booking records show Sanders was processed at the Arapahoe County Detention Facility before his release on the $1,000 personal recognizance bond. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office terminated his employment after the arrest. Sheriff Darren Weekly issued a formal condemnation: "I am deeply disappointed and disturbed by the arrest of one of our employees and the serious charges he is now facing. The alleged conduct is disgraceful and stands in direct opposition to the values, integrity, and professionalism we demand of every member of this agency." In a fuller statement, Weekly added, "No one is above the law - regardless of rank, position, or tenure. We hold our employees to the highest standards of ethical behavior, and when those standards are violated, we take swift and appropriate action."

Sanders appeared in Douglas County court on Feb. 24, when a judge approved his request to travel to California for a 45-day treatment program and issued a protection order for the unnamed Parker officer he is accused of assaulting. District Attorney George Brauchler underscored prosecutorial intent in the matter, saying, "In our community, nobody is above the law. Nobody." No blood-alcohol results have been released publicly and court filings will determine how the misdemeanor and traffic-infraction counts proceed in Douglas County court.