Too much nice.. Time for "Elected Officials Gone Wild"

The Rapid City Journal is reporting this evening that Rapid City Ward 5 City Councilman Bob Hurlbut was recently arrested for DUI. And check out that reported Blood Alcohol Count!:
A Rapid City Councilman was arrested last weekend for drunken driving. Robert Eugene Hurlbut, 36, is scheduled to make his initial appearance in magistrate court March 2 on a charge of first-offense drunken driving.

According to the police report, Hurlbut was arrested about 11:15 p.m. Saturday after a police officer saw his 1999 Infinity blocking traffic while stopped at a green light at 9th and Main streets. “The male driver informed me that he was waiting for a girl to leave the bar,” the officer wrote in his report.

Hurlbut reportedly failed sobriety tests. According to the report, a breathalyzer test indicated Hurlbut had a blood-alcohol concentration of .257. The legal limit for driving is .08. Breathalyzer test results are not admissible in court.

“There is no excuse for my lapse in judgment in putting myself in that situation,” Hurlbut said Tuesday. “I am beside myself that this happened, and I intend to accept full responsibility for my actions. And I will insure that it does not happen again.”
Read it all here. Now, it may not be admissible in court - the BAC from the little portable unit - but check out where it falls on the little chart I found out on the internet. From OU.edu (go Sooners!):
0.02 — 0.03 BAC: No loss of coordination, slight euphoria and loss of shyness. Depressant effects are not apparent. Mildly relaxed and maybe a little lightheaded.

0.04 — 0.06 BAC: Feeling of well-being, relaxation, lower inhibitions, sensation of warmth. Euphoria. Some minor impairment of reasoning and memory, lowering of caution.

0.07 — 0.09 BAC: Slight impairment of balance, speech, vision, reaction time, and hearing. Euphoria. Judgment and self-control are reduced, and caution, reason and memory are impaired

0.10 — 0.125 BAC: Significant impairment of motor coordination and loss of good judgment. Speech may be slurred; balance, vision, reaction time and hearing will be impaired. Euphoria.

0.13 — 0.15 BAC: Gross motor impairment and lack of physical control. Blurred vision and major loss of balance. Euphoria is reduced and dysphoria* is beginning to appear. Judgment and perception are severely impaired.

0.16 — 0.19 BAC: Dysphoria predominates, nausea may appear. The drinker has the appearance of a "sloppy drunk."

0.20 BAC: Feeling dazed/confused or otherwise disoriented. May need help to stand/walk. If you injure yourself you may not feel the pain. Some people have nausea and vomiting at this level. The gag reflex is impaired and you can choke if you do vomit. Blackouts are likely at this level so you may not remember what has happened.

0.25 BAC: All mental, physical and sensory functions are severely impaired. Increased risk of asphyxiation from choking on vomit and of seriously injuring yourself by falls or other accidents.

0.30 BAC: STUPOR. You have little comprehension of where you are. You may pass out suddenly and be difficult to awaken.

0.35 BAC: Coma is possible. This is the level of surgical anesthesia.

0.40 BAC and up: Onset of coma, and possible death due to respiratory arrest.
Yeesh. I guess I'm just a weenie anymore. At the point I would get to "No loss of coordination, slight euphoria and loss of shyness" I'd have to add "PP just goes to sleep and has a headache for the next week."

Anyway, Councilman Hurlbut was just elected to a full term of office last summer after a somewhat contentionus election between he and Rick Kreibel. (Read about it here at the Rapid City Journal.)

This is probably one of those little bumps in the road that eventually will blow over. From doing some cursory research, it doesn't appear that Hurlbut had positioned himself as a "law and order" candidate. If that had been the case, and he was picked up for drinking and driving - politically, he'd be in pretty bad shape.

As of now? It looks like he's going to have to take his lumps and the hard earned lesson.

Comments

Anonymous said…
1) I am curious why breathalyzer results are not admissable in court ? news to me,,seems odd,,why didnt they ask for blood ? could he even stand ??

2) I am under the impression that if he was driving with a BAC that high, he most assuredly has been driving drunk for some time. This is evidence of a very high tolerance,(personal experience in security)

3) He ran his campaign (for city council)on a promise to "show up at meetings" If he keeps his word concerning drinking, like he kept his word about attending city council meetings, we will be reading about more dui arrests in the near future.

Rick Kriebel
Douglas said…
My guess is that the portable breathtesters may not be certifiable. Too many years ago, I worked with SD:ASAP. Keeping breathtesters set correctly and certifiable in those days was difficult for the fixed machines. All that may have changed however.

I do remember that in a survey of all drivers moving between Pierre and Ft. Pierre over the bridge one night many years ago, a semi-prominent Ft. Pierre resident turned up with over 0.45. He had been pouring down more in one day for many years than most alcoholics would consume in several days and was driving OK when he went through the survey roadblock.

Another problem for alcoholics at that stage is that their systems have built up a tolerance for alcohol as an anesthetic and then if they do need surgery, it takes a lot more anesthetic to put them under and then it is difficult to get them out of the anesthetized condition. Of course, in the 30 years I have been away from that area, more information may have changed this situation.

Alcohol is a poison.
Anonymous said…
yes, a tasty poison

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