For a change, there’s no guessing game as to the errant politician’s party affiliation:
Graham, D-Columbia, was arrested Saturday night on suspicion of driving while intoxicated after police said Graham rear-ended a minivan near his south Columbia home.
According to an incident report released by police, Graham at first denied he had been drinking, then told an officer that he had “a few drinks.”
He was just being nuanced.
It seems Graham was not very cooperative with Donald Weaver, the officer, either. He steadfastly refused to do the necessary sobriety tests:
According to the report, at the scene of the crash Graham said his “paralyzation problem” made it impossible for him to undergo the sobriety tests. Specifically, he told police he could not move his eyes from side to side without moving his head.
Graham uses a wheelchair as a result of a car accident that left him partially paralyzed when he was 16.
The officer claims he asked Graham “no less than six times” whether he would submit to a breathalyzer. He finally agreed, but as Weaver was preparing the breathalyzer with a sterile mouthpiece, Graham changed his tune and said he needed medical assistance. He had a bruise on his arm.
Weaver then warned Graham that his statements constituted refusal under Missouri law, the report states.The license of a driver who refuses a Breathalyzer or other chemical test is automatically suspended for one year, according to a Missouri statute.
This is where it gets interesting…..Graham was then transported to University Hospital where Weaver attempted to collect a bag of Graham’s urine.
The report said Murray, emergency room doctor Scott Schultz, a nurse, a hospital administrator and two security guards attempted to prevent Weaver from taking the urine.
“Schultz was angry,” Weaver writes in the report. “His fists were clentched (sic) and the muscles in his forearms were flexed. His voice got progressively louder. He began pointing his finger at me as he continued to yell at me and order me to relinquish custody of my evidence.”
I can’t help but picture Schultz and Weaver engaging in a fierce tug of war over the sample, with “the evidence” sloshing all over both of them.
Weaver ended up winning the battle for the urine sample, and transported the prize to the police department for storage. The good officer was a man on a mission, so he returned to the hospital later with a warrant to collect a blood sample as well. Graham’s blood ended up being taken six hours after the police were dispatched to the accident scene.
A spokeswoman for University Hospital, said hospital workers did the right thing.
The Police Chief said his officer acted appropriately.
Boehm said the Police Department does not plan on pressing obstruction charges against Schultz.
The Missourian tried to reach Schultz for an interview.
A man who answered the phone this morning at Schultz’s residence did not comment.
“I don’t know what you’re speaking about,” the man said before hanging up.
Hmmmmmm.
They were still waiting for the results of the samples when the article was written.
