In the 1990s, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz reportedly fled from police during a DUI (driving under the influence) arrest and subsequently attributed the incident to his deafness, a claim that is not supported by court records.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, disclosed Walz as her running mate on Tuesday.
Shortly after the announcement, a plethora of articles regarding Walz’s past, including his 1995 DUI arrest, resurfaced.
According to a court transcript obtained by the outlet, Walz was traveling at a rate of over 90 miles per hour in a 55 mph traffic zone when he was stopped by the police.
According to the report of a Nebraska state trooper, his blood-alcohol level was 0.128%, which was significantly higher than the state’s legal limit of 0.08% at the time. He also failed a sobriety test and a breath test.
Walz’s counsel contended in court that Walz had only fled from the police because he mistakenly believed he was being pursued by someone. However, he eventually pulled over after the officer activated his siren.
“This is a little bit bizarre, but Mr. Walz thought somebody was chasing him. The officer didn’t turn on his red lights and he — somebody came up real fast behind him and he didn’t know what they were doing,” Walz’s lawyer said at the time.
“So he sped up to try to get away, fearing that somebody was after him. Lo and behold, it was a state patrolman that was behind him, so the faster he went, the faster the state patrol officer went,” he continued.
Walz was initially accused with driving under the influence; however, the charges were ultimately reduced to reckless driving after he entered into a plea agreement.
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