seattlecrime.com:
State Rep Sharon Tomiko Santos (D-37) is scheduled to appear in King County District Court this morning to face charges for a July DUI arrest in South Seattle.
According to Washington State Patrol records, a state trooper spotted Santos driving southbound on I-5 just before midnight on July 20th, and observed Santos “slowly drift[ing]” out of her lane several times.
The trooper pulled Santos over and approached her car.
“The driver, Sharon Santos, stated she was coming from a bar. I asked Ms. Santos if she had been drinking alcohol that night, and she stated that she had,” Trooper Jason Greer wrote in his report. “I could smell the odor of intoxicants coming from Ms. Santos’s breath, her eyes appeared watery, and her speech was slurred.” Read more.
State Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos (D-37) was arrested in South Seattle last summer for allegedly driving under the influence.
Who to know, where to eat & what to do in one of America’s most diverse zip codes!
{ 10 comments }
Too bad, what a shocker! This didn’t make the mainstream headlines in July, why? because she represents the ‘hood? I always hold a higher standard for politicos. If they want to drink their booze, fine. But get off the damn road. Where’s the community apology Sharon?
Why should she apologize. She shouldn’t even plead guilty. She blew a 0.077. She shouldn’t have even been arrested. What the hell is the point of a rule (.08 is the legal limit) if the cops can bust you anyway. Cop said she didn’t blow hard enough? Make her do it again. By all accounts she was cooperative and wasn’s using her position to try to get favors.
In the end she was probably smart just to accept the punishment and keep it low key.
The delay in reporting has nothing to do with her representing the “‘hood.” Typically reporters stumble upon these things, and since she wasn’t booked into the jail, it’s really easy for this to get lost in the shuffle. For it to make the news, a reporter would have had to (a) receive a tip or (b) wade through TONS of district court cases. OR Sharon would have had to have announced it herself. Since she was up for election this year, I can’t imagine why she would have done that.
An apology to MADD groups may help as well…
She certainly can’t hold her drink, drifting in and out of the lane on Southbound I-5.
Jane Hague, Bobbe Bridge, Randy Dorn all public officials on the public dime were sensible enough to issue an apology for their bad behavior. Venus V. lost her bid for city council driving home drunk. It’s called accountability.
Remember kids, Don’t drink and drive!!
@2 “She shouldn’t have even been arrested…”
Trooper Greer’s report also says Santos “had difficulty standing in the instructional stance” and “missed almost every heel to toe, used her arms for balance, and stepped off the line multiple times” during field sobriety tests.
Hope you encounter on the road or in your neighborhood – not me! She’s one hell of an example of leadership by example.
It doesn’t matter what the legal limit is. They can tag you for ‘driving under the influence’ even if you blow a .007 but you appear impaired. They can charge you for driving under the influence of benadryl if they want to.
If she was driving poorly, and failed the field test, she’s busted.
Per RCW:
(1) A person is guilty of driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug if the person drives a vehicle within this state:
(a) And the person has, within two hours after driving, an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher as shown by analysis of the person’s breath or blood made under RCW 46.61.506; or
(b) While the person is under the influence of or affected by intoxicating liquor or any drug; or
(c) While the person is under the combined influence of or affected by intoxicating liquor and any drug.
I think the 0.08 standard helps make it open-and-shut, but if you don’t have control of yourself as a result of drinking, I could not care less what number registers. I think the police need the opportunity to make a judgement call on this.
Anyone “drifting out of their driving lane a couple of times on I-5 at night” could be a danger to other drivers.
Although the 37th District is one of the most diverse zip codes in the state, it’s also one of the poorest. There’s really no political clout here. As evidenced, we just re-elected a chain smoking drunk back into the legislature. It’s a travesty that the incumbent candidate did not disclose her DUI charge before the recent election. She was unopposed anyways, but if that’s the way she wants to treat her constituents, so be it. I will never vote for her again.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013866524_santos07m.html
Comments on this entry are closed.