Posted on 04/08/2016 12:27:13 PM PDT by No One Special
BUTTE — Police arrested retired Navy SEAL Rob O'Neill -- who is credited with shooting al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden -- for driving under the influence about 2:30 a.m. Friday, according to the Butte-Silver Bow County sheriff's department
O'Neill was found sleeping in a 2005 Nissan Sentra at a Town Pump. The vehicle was running and the back-up lights were on, said Undersheriff George Skuletich.
Officers woke him up by opening the car door. They said he appeared under the influence -- confused and somewhat lethargic. He failed a horizontal gaze test at the scene, and other related sobriety tests at the jail.
O'Neill, 39, refused a Breathalyzer test. He was released from jail at 4:26 a.m. on a $685 bond. The charge is DUI, first offense, a misdemeanor.
Police came to the scene after five to six customers at the convenience store reported a man sleeping in the car.
According to the report, O'Neill said he had one drink, then denied it. He also said he may have taken Ambien, a prescription drug most often used to treat insomnia. O'Neill told authorities he had flown into Butte from overseas, but police weren't clear on the exact country.
O'Neill's 40th birthday party, open to the public, has been in the works for some time, and is planned Saturday at The Depot on South Arizona Street.
Robert O'Neill, 38, told The Washington Post in an interview in 2014 that he fired the two shots that killed bin Laden.
One current and one former SEAL confirmed to The Associated Press that O'Neill was long known to have fired the shots that killed the leader of the international terror group responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks.
O’Neill told the Post he decided to publicize his role after becoming certain that his identity would soon be leaked. Formerly a tightly held secret, the information became widely known in military circles and among members of Congress and at least two press organizations, he said.
O'Neill was born and raised in Butte.
I wondered about that too.
I think most cars these days only engage the backup lights when the car is in reverse.
In years past, there was a switch.
If he was in R, he must have had the E brake on.
Puritans actually had their shit together...unlike the Victorians. I cut the Puritans a lot of slack because their supply lines sucked. But the neo puritanical left has no such excuse. Richest country in the world, and they want to tell everyone how to behave...kiss my Dutch 1633 ass.
Back in the good old days of law enforcement, before liberals and political correctness took over departments, most of the military would get a ride home. Now, everyone goes to jail, which I still believe is the wrong attitude.
Discretion has been removed from the line officers bag of tools.
Most states make being in a motor vehicle, in which you are in control (having the keys available), susceptible to driving under the influence laws. I have never agreed with that.
If someone recognizes that he/she has had too much to drink, and they want to sleep it off, let them.
Unfortunately, that is not how the law makers want it.
I never arrested someone for driving under the influence for having the presence of mind to want to sleep it off and not possibly kill someone.
There was an Everybody Loves Raymond about this. Debra was too tipsy to drive, but didn’t want Ray’s parents to see her dropped off by a cab, so she slept in her car. She was arrested and had to go to a hearing to determine if her license would be revoked. Her defense was “intent to nap.”
Amen to that.
I don’t think a SEAL would lie about this.
It would have had to be an automatic transmission, otherwise the engine would have died with it in reverse gear and the emergency brake or parking brake engaged.
...or if his name were Ted Kennedy
Yes that seem correct.
In many states, just having the keys in the ignition, while drinking near your pickup or sleeping it off in the back constitutes dui/dwi.
WHY IS THIS IN BREAKING NEWS???
“Some people just earn a pass.”
Tell that to a family that has lost a good, smart, young woman to an adult drunk just as she heads off to college.
“I don’t think a SEAL would lie about this.”
Sailors -never- lie. They tell sea stories. Kyle said he was on the Superdome on Katrina sniping looters. Said he gunned down two car jackers on highway 67 in Texas. Both of those were... lets just say, not supported by a shred of proof.
Go tell any Sailor or Marine that you are sure a sailor is as honest as a boy scout. Watch the laughter.
I am kind of surprised up there they don’t have a warm up law. I know New Mexico changed recently so a drunk can run the engine for heat. Cant remember the details but I think you cant be in the drivers seat or some such.
But they decided that someone legitimately just running the heater shouldn’t be a crime. But drunk at the controls with engine running, and like this guy, with car in reverse, usually gets you a dwi.
The Town Pump is a gasoline station with a store attached and sometimes restaurant. If his car was in reverse, sounds like he probably stopped at the store for cigarettes or something after the bars closed and passed out. If he meant to sleep it off before driving he should have climbed in the backseat.
What is surprising about this is it was in his hometown. Cop might have known more and felt he needed a wakeup call. If he has a serious problem, next time might be worse. Cop might have done him a favor.
So he’s 38, but his 40th birthday party is coming up?
These people could hire me for 1/4 of what they pay “reporters.”
If I had been that police office, one I realized who he was...I would have awakened him, and then either let him use his phone, or offered my own, to have him call some one to come and get him.
I then would have sat there with him until that person came making sure O’Neill was put into good hands for a safe drive home...and before he left I would have shaken his hand and profusely thanked him for his service to our nation before he was driven home.
A sea story is one thing. “I killed Osama” in the national spotlight is quite another.
OMG! OMG! NOOOOO, not cigarettes, too?
HANG HIM!!!
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