Following the Dallas DWI arrest, Allen West’s wife’s attorney questions evidence

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Dallas police on Monday defended his arrest of Angela Graham-West, wife of Texas Republican candidate Allen West, for allegedly driving intoxicated.

At a press conference, Police Chief Edgardo Garcia showed a video of his traffic stop on Friday, the sobriety test in the field and his arrest. He gave few details when asked what parts of the Graham-West field sobriety test might have failed.

But information about police suspicions was detailed in a sworn statement of arrest warrant The Texas Tribune obtained from Graham-West’s attorney, who said his client had not drunk and questioned the force. of the officer’s evidence.

The toxicological results of a blood test are pending. Garcia said the results of a breathalyzer test performed during the traffic stop were inconclusive.

The affidavit attorney Todd Shapiro provided to Tribune states that Graham-West, 61, showed signs of intoxication in parts of the field sobriety test.

In an interview, Shapiro said a previous brain aneurysm behind his right eye contributed to some problems with the sobriety test in the field.

“He reported it to the agent and there is no mention anywhere of the … probable cause that this woman had health problems that could affect her performance or disguise herself as signs of intoxication,” he said. dir Shapiro.

West previously told the Tribune that his wife had “no problem” with field sobriety or blood alcohol testing.

Garcia said the department posted the images because West had painted a different picture of what happened, and commented that it was a “bad characterization.”

“We are not trying to prove this DWI arrest in the media,” Garcia said. “Mrs. West is entitled to due process.”

Graham-West was driving home with his 3-month-old grandson from a dinner with a close friend at PF Chang’s, where he had sea bass and Chilean lemonade, according to the affidavit and photo of a receipt West provided to the rostrum. . when a police officer dragged her down the road from West Northwest to Dallas. The video released Monday shows a vehicle spinning on the shoulder of his right hand before an officer pulls the driver.

The video shows Graham-West initially stopping in the center lane of the freeway when the officer told him to move to a side street. He then headed to the far right lane and the officer told him again to move to a side street.

According to the probable affidavit Shapiro provided to the rostrum, the officer approached the vehicle and “smelled of alcohol coming from the car” and said Graham-West’s eyes were injected with blood. . The agent noticed that Graham-West’s reaction times were delayed and he seemed confused.

He also pointed to the appearance of Graham-West’s clothing and hair as signs of possible poisoning, which Shapiro called “unstable” evidence.

The affidavit says Graham-West attributed the way he drove while listening to his GPS. Graham-West was also said to be on the phone with a stranger.

Officers conducted three field sobriety tests, in which she showed signs of intoxication in two, according to the affidavit. In the first test, one of six clues was observed that indicated that someone might be intoxicated. In the second test, two of the eight tracks were observed. Two of the four tracks were observed in the third test. Failure is he considered two or more tracks, Shapiro said.

“Usually … only four out of six are seen [clues observed] and six out of six. I have been doing this for 21 years. I’ve never seen any of the six [clues observed] written in a police report, ”Shapiro said.

Shapiro attributed the failures of the field sobriety test to a brain aneurysm that Graham-West had experienced behind his right eye a few years ago.

When police asked him to take a breathalyzer test, he wondered why one had to be done. But the video shows Graham-West blowing the Breathalyzer several times. Garcia said the blood alcohol results were inconclusive because they were not done correctly. Then the video shows that she was arrested and did not resist.

The affidavit also says Graham-West initially consented to do a blood test and went to Parkland Hospital with the police officer, but later withdrew his consent when he arrived and asked for his attorney. The officer then obtained an order to draw blood.

“Based on the totality of the circumstances, I believe the officer believed he had probable cause to think the individual was driving intoxicated,” Garcia told the news conference.

Shapiro also said Graham-West went and got a five-panel instant urine test on Monday morning that also included a breathalyzer test. He said he showed no drug or alcohol presence. The blood alcohol test goes back 80 hours, Shapiro said.

The arrest drew attention Saturday when West told his Instagram video from the Dallas County Jail that he had been to Waco having dinner with Ted Nugent when he returned to Dallas to find that his wife had been arrested.

He said in the video that he had talked to people who were having dinner with his wife and grandson who told him he only had water and lemonade. The photo of the restaurant receipt that West provided in the grandstand shows a lemonade but no alcoholic beverages appear.

In the video, West said he was especially angry that his grandson was standing on the side of the road with two police officers, while other officers were taking his wife to jail. Officers stayed with the boy until his parents came to pick him up.

Mike Mata, president of the Dallas Police Association, defended the agent’s actions at The Mark Davis Show at 660 AM in Dallas and criticized West for his calls to remove the officer from the department.

“Lieutenant Colonel West believes it is special, that he should receive certain treatments that all other citizens do not receive,” Mata added. “Is it because he is a politician? Is it because he is running for governor? Well, he is not. We believe in fair and equal treatment according to the law.”

Mata also said officers went beyond normal policies to contact West’s family to pick up his grandson. The department’s policy, he said, usually forces officers to call child protection services when a driver is arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated with a child under 15 in the car.

In response to Mata’s comments, West told Tribune that this incident “was not normal.”

“I thank the gentleman who speaks for the police association, but I speak for the honor of my wife, I speak for the honor of my family, and I also speak to make sure that this does not happen to anyone in Dallas.” , said West.

James Barragán contributed to this story.

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