The D.C. police commander who suggested that chauffeuring celebrities like Charlie Sheen around has been "standard operating procedure" for his department for years says he's in trouble.
Cmdr. Hilton Burton said he's been "ostracized" by other police officials. He also said that, last week, Internal Affairs officers questioned him for a second time regarding Sheen's law enforcement shepherding. Burton was first questioned when an internal police investigation into Sheen's ride began in April. Burton heads the division that provides police escorts.
Burton said during this most recent interview he got the distinct impression from his questioners that they were preparing to make allegations against him in connection to Sheen. Burton declined to say what he thought those allegations might be.
In June, Burton attended a D.C. Council hearing on Sheen's unapproved motorcade, which MPD has said violated policy. Sheen revealed his special ride by tweeting about it. At the hearing, Burton testified that though two mid-level MPD officials were blamed for arranging such lifts, MPD's top commanders, including Chief Cathy Lanier, knew all about the cop-run taxi service.
Lanier told reporters after the hearing that Burton's testimony was inaccurate and that she thought he was merely using a "tactic" to avoid the prospect of future discipline for the Sheen episode.
Burton told City Desk his motivations were pure: “I saw the opportunity to right a wrong."
Photo by Matthew Straubmuller via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0
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Charlie Sheen Escort May Get D.C. Cop In Trouble was originally published by Washington City Paper on Jul 6, 2011
