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Colorado State Rep. Matt Gray’s arrest last week on a DUI charge came after he attempted to pick up his children at a school in Broomfield and employees there reported he appeared to be intoxicated and smelled of liquor, according to a police report released Monday.
Broomfield police arrested Gray, a Democrat representing the 33rd District, around 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Coyote Ridge Elementary School, 13770 Broadlands Drive, after he arrived to pick up his two children from an after-school program.
Employees of the after-school program stopped Gray, 41, from taking the children, 6 and 8, over their suspicions he was intoxicated, and called his ex-wife to retrieve the kids, the police report said.
The employee who reported Gray to police told officers she saw him stumbling, smelled liquor on him “and his words were ‘mumbling’” when he arrived to drive his children home, according to the report. Officer Dashawn Abram also noted in the report that Gray smelled of “an unknown alcoholic beverage.”
“I could see that Matthew’s eyes were bloodshot red and glossy. He also appeared to be unsteady standing on two feet,” Abram wrote. “While listening to Matthew talk, it appeared that he was slurring his words and having trouble finishing his thoughts.”
Gray denied consuming any alcohol before attempting to pick up his children, and told police he was suffering from anxiety and was in the midst of a panic attack, according to the report. The comments were similar to the statement he tweeted the day after his arrest.
“I was not intoxicated, but my symptoms of anxiety and depression are such that too many people are worried when they’re around me,” Gray wrote in the since-deleted Tweet. “I’m going to increase my levels of therapy and appreciate all the support.”
Gray did not respond to interview requests following his arrest last week and could not be reached Monday.
Gray refused a breath test of his blood alcohol level and declined to perform a field sobriety test, the report said. He was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
According to the report, Gray had called state Sen. Faith Winter before police arrived and asked her to give him and his two kids a ride. Winter was on the scene and told police that Gray had had a “bad day” at work and that he had struggled with panic attacks for the past few months, though she did not know whether that contributed to alcohol consumption, the report said.
Gray, who represents Boulder and Broomfield counties, was first elected in 2016 and serves on the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee, the House Finance Committee and the House Local Government Committee in the Colorado General Assembly.
He is also a former deputy district attorney for Broomfield and Adams counties, according to his campaign website.
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