Snowmass Village Councilman's Attorney: 'He's Not The President Of The United States'

SNOWMASS VILLAGE, Colo. (CBS4) - A town councilman in Snowmass Village allegedly caused thousands of dollars in damage after being arrested on suspicion on driving drunk.

The Pitkin County Sheriff's Office released a video of Councilman Chris Jacobson in his cell. Jacobson, 50, was originally arrested on a DUI charge and now faces a felony charge for criminal mischief.

The felony charge stems from an hours-long tantrum authorities say Jacobson threw behind jail walls on June 26. Surveillance video shows what began as kicking the door, banging repeatedly, and throwing his mat around.

Deputies put Jacobson in a restraint chair and say he tore out the metal clasps bolting it to the floor. A still photo shows wires exposed and parts of the rubber panels ripped from the cell's wall -- damage jail officials say will cost more than $14,000 to repair.

"I realize that Mr. Jacobson is a public servant, but he is not the president of the United States. This is not some murder case," said Jacobson's attorney Arnold Mordkin. "It's not the kind of case that really deserves the notoriety that he's been getting."

While Mordkin declined to comment on whether the councilman will resign, he says he's disturbed by the county's public release of the video.

"What that does is it tries the case in the media as opposed to in the court where it belongs," Mordkin said.

According to Section 3.8 in the Snowmass Village town charter, Jacobson is allowed to remain an elected official unless he's convicted of the felony.