Posted on 04/27/2005 4:09:29 PM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
Cleveland Councilman Zack Reed, known as much for his socializing as his political stances, was arrested in the Warehouse District early Tuesday morning and charged with drunken driving.
Reed, 44, said in an interview that he spent part of the night at Liquid, a trendy bar on West Sixth Street, after leaving Monday's council meeting.
"I came out [of the bar], didn't go 20 feet and boom, they were on me," he said.
Reed faces charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, not wearing a seat belt, driving left of center and changing lanes without signaling.
Special prosecutor C. Randolph Keller will determine if Reed should also be charged with resisting arrest. Police said he struggled with them as he was being arrested.
The city wanted a special prosecutor because Reed chairs council's Public Safety Committee, which oversees the Police Department. Police worried that having the city decide on additional charges would give the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Reed is expected to appear in court today.
A council spokeswoman said the arrest will not affect Reed's position as chairman of the committee.
Reed was critical of the police last year after a series of police shootings. He urged that each cruiser be equipped with a dashboard-mounted camera to help with claims of police brutality.
There was no video recording of Reed's arrest, which took place on St. Clair Avenue, between West Sixth and West Third streets.
A police cruiser spotted Reed's red 1995 BMW pull out of a parking spot shortly after 2 a.m.
"As he pulled out, he went left of center and crossed the double-yellow line," said Sgt. Dan Galmarini, a police spokesman.
An officer gave Reed two field sobriety tests, and the councilman failed both, police said. "One more test, I'll take one more test," Reed pleaded, according to the police report.
Reed took a urine test and his blood-alcohol content was 0.28 percent - about 2½ times the legal limit, police said.
Police also said Reed struggled with the officers when they tried to arrest him.
"He didn't strike the officers," said 3rd District Commander Andres Gonzalez. "But during the struggle, he was waving his arms."
Reed denied putting up a fight.
"There were four officers," he said. "How could I resist arrest?"
Reed was appointed to represent Ward 3, which includes the Mount Pleasant neighborhood, in 2000, replacing Odelia Robinson. He was re-elected in 2001 and named chairman of the Public Safety Committee a few months later.
Reed is a regular in Cleveland's social scene and can be found on many weekends in the bars and clubs in Tremont and the Warehouse District. His council colleagues and members of Mayor Jane Campbell's staff often take jabs at Reed's social life, referring to him as "Councilman of the Warehouse District."
In an interview last year, Reed defended his penchant for partying.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with going out with my family or friends to have a good time," he said.
Reed briefly considered running for mayor this year but chose instead to continue working toward his degree at Cleveland State University. He plans to run for re-election to his council seat this fall.
Plain Dealer reporter Olivera Perkins contributed to this story.
To reach these Plain Dealer reporters:
mtobin@plaind.com, 216-999-5079
gbaird@plaind.com, 216-999-4141
I suspect his constituents won't care because he represents a part of the town where the police are always wrong.
What party affiliation? There wasn't any mention of that designation... oooohh It's the Cleveland Plain Dealer.. now I understand why, the man is obviously a D'RAT.
Another democrat caught with his stripes showing. He's a member of the Cleveland Stonewall Democrats club.
The guy is making it sound like those racist cops picked on him just because he was driving on the wrong side of the road. (Maybe he thought he was in Japan.) They must have been waiting for him, I guess, since he only got "20 feet". Thank God for that! He 'only' had about a 0.30 on his test. That's pretty pickled, my man! Well, party on, Bro! Maybe when you get your degree you can run for mayor. Hell, who needs a lousy degree. Run without it. Most of the mayors here have been morons (Kucinich, White, Campbell), so you'll fit right in. And, you'll be a drunk, too!
.28 is seriously polluted, and is 3 1/2 times the legal limit. Let me guess since it wasn't mentioned in the story, Rat?
I guess they all left earlier in the evening....
There is only one party in Cleveland. Rat on!
WTF you can not determin blood alcohol by a urine test, thats BS!!!
Yeah, there's nothing wrong with going out, it's the COMING BACK bombed out of your skull so bad you can't tell where you are driving. If he killed someone, he would probably sue the bar and the distiller and the cops for not catching him sooner. He'd haul Jesse Jackson in to spout some nonsense about it being someone elses fault.
Urine test? Blood test, maybe. Hey, the reporters here are 5 times as dumb as the politicians. Blood runs as thick as pi$$.
Don't care about party affiliation, this reporter said he took a urin test wich tells me the whole story is suspect.
Believe me, the reporter can't tell the difference between pee and blood. It's a requirement to be stupid to be a reporter for the PD. You have to make at least six mistakes in each story.
They do not give piss test to determin BAC, Period. That means the reporter made it up, what else did he make up, maybe the facts of the story?
You look at Zack Reed and see a drunken councilman. I look at Zack Reed and see...the next United States Congressman from Ohio! [sarcasm]
I'm sure he was set up by a cabal of white russians.
Er - when ya pop a 0.28%, ya don't often have good judgement skills at your disposal (and yes - urine is sometimes used to determine BAC).
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