CBS 4 in Denver digs up the police documents on the details of Carmelo Anthony’s DUI arrest, and it isn’t pretty.
According to the report, when Anthony was pulled over he, “had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath, blood shot watery eyes, speech was mumbling slurred.“
At times police described the 23-year-old NBA star as “polite,” but at other times they said he was “sarcastic” and “uncooperative.” Those involved in the case said Anthony badly failed every roadside sobriety test that was administered. When he was asked to take nine steps, heel to toe, then turn around and take another nine steps, he forgot to perform the second half of the maneuver, according to police. CBS4 has also learned that when he was asked to stand on one leg, he swayed, put his foot down and “gave up,” telling an officer, “I don’t have good balance.”
It’s tough to call out Anthony for that kind of thing, because many of us have been in similar condition while driving and were never been pulled over. As we stated earlier, Melo’s number just came up. That’s the nature of most DUIs. But let us be clear, we are not endorsing drinking and driving. We’re just telling the truth of how we all know it is.
So we’re not going to castigate Carmelo for his bad life choice and even worse luck. But we will excoriate the Denver police for something else contained in the police report.
After Anthony was booked, the police report indicates that Anthony was escorted to a hotel by the Denver police. And in another area of the report, police indicated they had driven Anthony home.
Of course, the cops would never, ever do that for a typical DUI suspect. But sadly, that’s standard operating procedure when it comes to the handling of celebrities. Now everyone will be questioning the legitimacy of the outcome of Anthony’s case.
When will the police ever learn?
12:54 pm on April 16th, 2008
Brooks, anyone who drives drunk in the USA is an idiot who deserves what they get.
If you, Brooks, have been driving when you’re so drunk you can’t stand or figure out where you are, then you’re a bigger idiot than I ever thought you could be.
1:11 pm on April 16th, 2008
Right, that’s exactly what I meant. Every night I’m out tooling around at 4am while blind drunk. And I give my full endorsement to those who do!
DUI laws (state-to-state) and enforcement are completely random, and well over half of drivers on the freeways after 10pm in most large cities would test positive for DUI.
And there are countless thousands every night who are driving while in a similar condition to Anthony’s who never get caught.
I’m not excusing Anthony, merely pointing out that he was far from being alone in his condition while driving that night.
Of course, telling the truth about something like that is taboo. So I expect to be mocked and taken out of context. It comes with the territory.
5:16 pm on April 16th, 2008
Sometimes I don’t know if you are serious or if you are just messing with us! I’ll go with number 2 and give a fellow Georgia Bulldog a pass here.
I do agree with your comment in the earlier article: “[We continue] to be amazed that these guys don’t hire full time drivers.”
Celebrities and star athletes have NO reason to drive under the influence. They can afford a driver to haul their drunk butts home.
Melo couldn’t even stand straight when the cops hauled him out of his car.
I can’t say whether or not police are random in their enforcement of DUI. Without road blocks, it’s hard to catch every drunk on the road.
I hate to say it, but maybe MADD has a point. I don’t agree with the group’s tactics or politics, but there’s something to be said for personal responsibility.
6:31 pm on April 16th, 2008
If it isn’t random, why isn’t there checkpoints outside NFL Stadiums postgame every week? If they’re really serious about stopping drinking and driving, wouldn’t that be a good place to start?
Or after the UGA-UF game?
7:54 pm on April 16th, 2008
Preaching to the choir, my friend. If the NFL were serious about DUI, the stadiums wouldn’t serve beer in the 2nd half.
And Jacksonville would be dry when the Bulldogs come to town…
Of course, the police say checkpoints would cause traffic problems after the game. I don ‘t get it.
Maybe we should serve milk and cookies at games? Support the American farmer?
I know we’ve had drunk crowds since the first beer was poured, but I don’t even go to live sporting events any more. If there’s a big crowd, half of them just wanna drink and fight. I’ll get a better view of the game at home. It’s sad.
I’m gonna watch the Devils beat up on the Rangers right now.