An Arizona congressman, pulled over for weaving down the highway, threatened his arresting officers telling them, “You’re making a mistake.”
An Arizona State Trooper spotted a pickup truck weaving between lanes on Loop 202 in Mesa around 11:22 p.m. on Dec. 20.
According to Department of Public Safety report, the trooper smelled a strong odor of alcohol and noticed that the driver’s eyes were very bloodshot, AZ Central reported.
When the trooper asked for a driver’s license, the driver instead offered up a state House of Representatives identification card.
According to the ID, the driver was District 8 Republican Congressman David Cook.
VIDEO: Dashcam footage obtained from the Arizona Department of Public Safety shows the DUI arrest of Arizona Rep. David Cook on the night of December 19. pic.twitter.com/pfINGy1TZj
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) December 22, 2018
‘You’ll Get Yours’
Cook initially refused the officer’s order to get out of the truck. When the trooper insisted, Cook replied, “Do you know what you’re doing, son? You’re making a mistake.”
Cook eventually did step out of the vehicle but appeared to be confused and maintained his belligerent attitude.
During the test, Cook complained that he was cold because the police didn’t let him wear his jacket—but he was wearing his jacket, Phoenix New Times reported.
When asked to perform a field sobriety test, Cook responded, “That’s not gonna happen.”
After failing several field sobriety tests, the officer placed Cook under arrest, which seemed to come as a surprise Cook. “Can you just arrest me like this?” he can be heard asking in dash-cam video released by DPS.
After the arrest, an officer could be heard telling another, “He’s kind of all over the place. He’s not following directions, odor of alcohol, the whole nine yards.”
When one of the arresting officers warned Cook to watch his head as he entered the police cruise, Cook responded, “I’m fine, don’t worry. You’ll get yours.”
Receiving a Conservative Achievement award with an #ACUFRating of 87% in #AZleg for defending Arizonans' Constitutional…
Twice the Limit: Extreme DUI
Cook was taken to a DPS substation where he blew a 0.152 and a 0.158 on a breathalyzer. Those results are nearly twice Arizona’s legal limit of 0.08 blood alcohol.
While Representative cook later claimed that he had never asked for special treatment, he was allowed 20 minutes in a private room in order to converse with his lawyer, AZ Central reported—a privilege certainly not accorded to most prisoners.
Cook was told that because he was being charged with extreme driving under the influence and that his driving privileges would be suspended.
Cook responded, “It’s fine, my wife works at the MVD, (Motor Vehicle Division).”
Cook was released into the custody of his wife Diana around 3:15 a.m.
Facebook Apology, Punishment
Representative Cook posted a long apology on his Facebook page later that evening. He blamed his intoxication on not having eaten lunch or dinner before having a few “harmless” drinks with friends.
In his apology he emphasized that “there was no accident, no one got hurt.”
Besides facing a judge, Cook, who was overwhelmingly reelected to a second term in November, was disciplined by House Speaker Rusty Bowers.
“I’m disappointed and saddened by Rep. Cook for failing to meet the standard expected of all Arizonans, much less an elected official,” Bowers said.
“Representative Cook has the ability to be a talented legislator but he clearly has some personal challenges that he needs to confront,” he continued.
Cook was stripped of his seat on the on the House Public Safety Committee as a result of the arrest.
