McFadyen talks about ‘the night that nothing happened’

Pueblo County Commissioner Liane “Buffie” McFadyen said she did nothing wrong the night a deputy questioned her and thought she was drunk and couldn’t drive.

In January, a deputy found McFadyen and Pueblo County Democratic chair Ron Greenwell sitting in a parked car. The deputy suspected both were intoxicated but only gave Greenwell a sobriety test. Greenwell registered nearly double the legal limit.

McFadyen spoke publicly for the first time Wednesday since she released dash-cam video of the incident. KRDO asked McFadyen if she thought she did anything wrong by sitting in a parked car while intoxicated, according to the deputy. She replied, “I will tell you that was the opinion but if you read the report and watch the video, people can make their own decisions as to whether or not I was intoxicated.”

McFadyen’s husband drove Greenwell and her husband home that night. The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office stands by its deputies’ actions but said it made one mistake. A deputy allowed McFadyen’s husband, Troy Manchego, to drive away with a suspended license. By the time the deputy realized it, they had left.

KRDO asked McFadyen whether she knew her husband had a suspended license. “I appreciate the question very much. I appreciate the public’s interest on this lovely night that nothing happened, but I can’t comment,” she said. “The case is being reviewed by the district attorney in Colorado Springs as told to me by the district attorney here in Pueblo.”

The 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said the investigation will take a couple of weeks to complete.