Florida Republican Arrested For DUI After Leaving Taco Bell At 2 A.M. (UPDATED)
The Huffington Post | by Janie Campbell
"We need to be as elected officials held to a higher standard," said Florida state Rep. Dane Eagle (R-Cape Coral) last month after sponsoring a bill that would require legislators to submit to drug testing.
Just before 2 a.m. Monday morning, Eagle was arrested in Tallahassee on suspicion of DUI. Police first spotted him pulling out of a Taco Bell in his black SUV before he narrowly avoided hitting a median, then stopped in an intersection, veered into a curb and ran a traffic light, according to arrest documents.
An arresting officer wrote that Eagle smelled like alcohol, had "bloodshot, watery, and glassy eyes," and swayed while outside his vehicle, but denied drinking any alcoholic beverages. He allegedly claimed the smell of booze had come from friends who had ridden in his car after being at a bar, and refused to take a field sobriety test or submit to a breath test, according to police.
Eagle, 30, was booked at Leon County Jail and later released.
"I was arrested in Tallahassee and accused of driving under the influence of alcohol," Eagle said in a statement, according to the News-Press. "While there are some decisions that I would have made differently, I do not believe there is a complete and accurate picture of the events. Under advice of my legal counsel, I cannot discuss all the details right now, but I look forward to publically (sic) sharing the entire story at an appropriate time. Until then, I humbly ask for everyone's patience. I know that I am accountable for my actions, and I look forward to communicating with my constituents in the near future on this matter."
The freshman lawmaker and real estate agent made news earlier this year when -- after years of Florida unsuccessfully arguing in court for the right to drug test thousands of state workers and welfare recipients with children -- he filed a bill that would have subjected lawmakers, elected officials, judges, school board members and others to the same requirements. If they refuse to submit to testing, they would be forced to resign.
Under Eagles' bill, positive test results would be referred to the state's Commission on Ethics, but he also filed a companion bill that exempts public officials' drug testing results from the public record, citing possible "unwarranted damages to the reputation of a public officer."
According to jail records, Eagle's booking photo is exempt under Florida statues.
UPDATE, 5:30 p.m.: Eagle's mugshot has been released after jail officials determined a cited exemption didn't apply to him, the Tampa Bay Times reports. It has been added to the story. The paper also notes that Eagle voted this legislative session for House Bill 265, "which would prohibit the publication of mug shots unless the person arrested is convicted or found guilty of the crime."
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Show those crooked conservative Supreme Court judges that the American people won't stand for their anti-democracy, unconstitutional oligarchy...
Stockings stuffed with welfare checks and other people working so you can become an artist or a bum. Do you dream in color Rex? The government might have a subsidy for the people who dream in black and white. And who knows, it might come with a Democratic ballot.
Get your head out of your ass, or your buddies, and you will see that a significant number of people think you and liberals are dead wrong. Show those crooked conservative Supreme Court judges
Show me one crooked thing one of those conservatives judges have done.
But before you do remember if there is not direct proof, if there is one technicality, or he has not signed a confession. He is not guilty or connected in anyway. He has simply gotten away with it like your president.
We've gotten to where we are with this court by allowing Republicans to be elected to the highest office.
I can only hope the electorate wakes up to the damage the Republicans are doing to reason and equity in the law...but there is a part of me that recognizes that the "waking up" will not come easily.
Excerpt:
The question from the CNN reporter was absurdly biased because it was based on the Republican talking point about President Obama’s “red line.” The fact that Acosta mentioned Syria, and appeared to have no idea that 87% of the chemical weapons had been removed demonstrated that he had bought the Republican propaganda hook, line, and sinker.
Acosta also tried to make the news instead of reporting it by suggesting that the U.S. might use military action against China. According to the press that is covering President Obama, a treaty now equals a red line. Getting the chemical weapons out of Syria without a shot fired is a foreign policy failure, and Obama is threatening military action against China.
It’s one thing for the media to be this bad at home, but it is worse when they embarrass the nation on the world stage. The media can’t report facts, because they aren’t interested in them. Apparently, you can take the media out of Washington, but you can’t take the Republican bias out of the media.
