DUI Arrest Video Of Senator Dave Min Released

Footage of the DUI arrest of Senator Dave Min (D-Orange County) on May 2nd in Sacramento was released on Monday, showing that Min lied to officers about how much he had to drink that night, and was worried that the arrest would be reported to Senate leadership.

According to the Capitol Protection Section of the California Highway Patrol (CHP), Senator Min (D-Orange County) was driving a Toyota Camry through Sacramento after 10 P.M. At 10:23 P.M., the CHP observed Min go south on Ninth Street just north of S Street without headlights on. Following him, they then witnessed him go through a red light at 9th Street and Broadway before finally pulling him over at Riverside and Broadway.

Earlier that night, Min had gone to a few bars with fellow Assemblymembers, lobbyists, and realtors, and was shown to have had some alcohol that night. He had then left in a state silver Camry.

The officers proceeded to conduct a DUI test on Min. However, he failed, and he was arrested on suspicion of driving with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit of 0.08%. Later reports revealed that he had blown a .15 on scene with later blood tests giving a .14 and .13 respectively. This was confirmed with Min then formally charged with a DUI misdemeanor, arrested, and sent to Sacramento County Jail. On Wednesday morning, May 3rd, the Senator was subsequently released and was given a July hearing date.

Min, who has been the top Democratic candidate for Congresswoman Katie Porter’s (D-CA) soon to be open 47th District Congressional seat since January, has faced many calls to drop out as a result of the DUI. While Republicans and select Democrats have urged him to drop out, many have been waiting on both the arrest footage to be released and what he will ultimately be charged with in court in July.

On Tuesday, the footage from inside the back seat of the police car was released. In it, Min is shown to be handcuffed and rocking back and forth. Min then blows a .15 proving that he had lied on the police report which he claimed he had drank only two beers that night, with a BAC as high as .15 indicating the equivalent of 8 drinks for a person his size.

CA state senator Dave Min, who is the leading candidate to replace Rep. Katie Porter in Congress, was driving with a blood alcohol level of nearly twice the legal limit before he was arrested for drunk driving earlier this month.

Via @SusannahLuthi https://t.co/mQpbCwlDNT pic.twitter.com/Grgxk637xV

— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) May 15, 2023

“It was .15 man. I couldn’t even believe it. Sh*t man. How many drinks is that usually?,” said Min. “I couldn’t even believe that shit, man.”

Further police body camera footage of Min being given cognitive tests also had Min being heard to say “I just want to go home. I assume this is all going to the Senate leadership, and all that.”

The arresting officer responded by saying that he wasn’t sure how far that his report would go.

Footage of Min released

The footage, transcripts, and the revelation that Min had lied about how much he drank brought forth new criticism against Min with more notable lawmakers and advocacy groups. Republicans continued hotly questioning why many Democrats were staying silent on the matter and continued to back his withdrawing from the Congressional race on Monday, with National Republican Congressional Committee Spokesman Ben Petersen saying, “Democrats are careening toward a chaotic, risky intraparty brawl for a hotly-contested open seat. How much longer can Katie Porter and Dave Min’s Democrat backers stay silent on his DUI arrest?”

A surprising call for Min to drop, however, came from former Democratic Congressman Harley Rouda, who served as a Congressman for one term from 2019 to 2021 before being defeated by Congresswoman Michelle Steel (R-CA). Road initially began to run against Min and GOP challenger Scott Baugh for Porter’s district earlier this year, but had to bow out due to a brain injury last month. On Monday, he called for Min to leave office following the revelations earlier in the day, and instead backed the next most prominent Democrat in the race, activist Joanna Weiss.

“While we thank Dave Min for his service to the party, with his recent DUI he should immediately withdraw from the race,” tweeted Rouda on Monday. “If it was a Republican candidate who got a DUI, Democrats would demand exactly that. Let’s not be hypocrites—join me in calling on Dave Min to quit the race.”

Big news! I’m proud to endorse my friend, @joannajweiss for Congress. Please read my statement below. pic.twitter.com/1EhBtl6FJH

— Harley Rouda (@HarleyRouda) May 15, 2023

Experts also noted that Min will be on very thin ice with his remaining supporters between now and July, with more footage and details of his arrest likely to be released.

“The video is not a good look,” explained Anne Otis, a Los Angeles Public Relations expert who specializes in political scandals, to the Globe on Monday. “It’s not so much the arrest itself, as a single DUI many politicians can survive. It’s him saying he had two beers where it is obvious it was many more than that. You can’t lie to the police like that, and that’s why a lot more Democrats are skittish about this now.”

“If it was just the DUI and he had been honest, he gives an apology, vows for it to never happen again, gives back to the community in some way, and does what the judge says. It’s a rough road ahead, but he could overcome it. Many politicians in the past even used a DUI incident in the past to show how much they grew and to their advantage. But he lied and didn’t appear apologetic in the video. It’s more than just a mistake for many now. And he is going to get a lot more pressure to drop out, which for the Democrats, is the last thing they want because he is their only strong candidate in the race there against a Republican who nearly won there last year.”

“For the Democrats, it’s now either stand by the guy with a DUI and lied about details of it, or go with someone else who is not nearly as well known. You can be the party is weighing this now.”

Min is expected to appear in court over the DUI in July.