Aspen Cop Fired for Giving DUI Reporter Ride Home

According to the Aspen Times, Valerie McFarlane, a police officer in Aspen, Colorado, was let go last month after she failed to file charges against Troy Hooper, an Aspen newspaper editor, for allegedly drinking and driving.

When McFarlane encountered Hooper in downtown Aspen, she picked him up. The two proceeded to have a half-hour conversation, recorded by the police car video recorder, concerning Hooper's "favorable" coverage of the police department. (McFarlane had been put on work-related probation in September for using her badge to get free VIP access to the Jazz Aspen Labor Day Festival for herself and family.)