The former police commander who publicly contradicted Chief Cathy Lanier over the department’s policy of providing police escorts has been issued a reprimand over the security detail that raced Charlie Sheen to an April performance in the District. But Capt. Hilton Burton said Thursday that he didn’t do anything wrong.
“It’s a sham of an investigation,” Burton said. “I was not going to accept it because I still don’t think we violated any orders or directives.”
Burton said he was given a reprimand Tuesday by the inspector department’s disciplinary review section. The reprimand accused him of violating a general order from 1974, and would go into his personnel jacket for three years. Burton said he will appeal it, and Lanier will determine whether Burton should be punished.
The reprimand comes weeks after Burton was fired as head of the Special Operations Division and demoted two ranks to captain following his appearance before the D.C. Council. Burton gave testimony directly contradicting his boss, Lanier, saying that there was no policy against the escort of celebrities and the practice was common during the four years Lanier herself headed the division.
A subsequent D.C. inspector general’s report seems to support Burton. The IG report found that the police escorts for celebrities had been an accepted practice for years, and the escorting officers had not violated department policies.
Burton told The Washington Examiner on Thursday that the internal investigation of the Sheen escort detail had been concluded May 25, but was reopened after he spoke out.
Burton said it is more retaliation for exposing the truth about the escorts.
“Again, this all has to do with my testimony before the council,” Burton said.
Gwendolyn Crump, a spokeswoman for the D.C. police, called Burton’s statements “inaccurate.”
“This was an ongoing investigation that concluded recently and we cannot comment further,” Crump said.
The Sheen escort brought intense media scrutiny on the department after Sheen posted on Twitter a picture showing a speedometer hitting 80 mph as he rode escorted from Washington Dulles International Airport to a performance at DAR Constitution Hall on April 19.
“Driving like someone’s about to deliver a baby!” Sheen wrote.
According to the IG report, other VIPs who got police escorts over the past decade include Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, Elton John and Billy Joel.
