A Watertown state consultant was arrested and charged with drunken driving after police say he struck a parked automotive and left the scene close to the State Home.
“I am a state rep,” John Garden, a 56-year-old Democrat who represents the tenth Middlesex District within the Massachusetts Legislature, allegedly informed a police officer at round 1:20 a.m. Wednesday because the officer approached Garden’s trashed GMC Yukon SUV.
Garden, who co-chairs the Health Care Financing Committee on the State Home, faces fees of working a car beneath the affect of liquor and leaving the scene of property harm. His driver’s license can also be suspended for refusing to take a breathalyzer take a look at.
Garden issued a press release via his legal professional, Timothy Flaherty, during which he says he’s sorry.
“I deeply regret and take full responsibility for my actions. What happened was completely unacceptable. I make no excuses. I am committed to taking the necessary steps to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again,” Garden wrote in his assertion. “To my family, friends, and constituents, I have let you down, and for that I am deeply sorry.”
Circumstances
Garden’s SUV, the officer famous in his report, seemed to be “leaning to one side” because it was parked on Bowdoin Road close to the intersection with Beacon Road. The officer famous “extreme damage to the passenger side front wheel … turned to an extreme degree not consistent with normal vehicle operations.”
The officer additionally famous “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage” coming from Garden, and that his eyes had been “glassy and bloodshot, and his speech was slurred.” Garden stated he was driving from an occasion on the State Home, in keeping with the police report.
The final scheduled occasion for Tuesday was sponsored by Garden, in keeping with the revealed State Home occasions schedule for this week. Nevertheless, that occasion, a “Legislative Committee Public Hearing” within the Gardner Auditorium, was scheduled to final from 10 a.m. to five p.m.
The one who flagged the police down stated he noticed the Yukon strike a parked Toyota Tundra pickup truck on Hancock Road earlier than then blowing previous a number of cease indicators with out stopping, in keeping with the police report.
The cops ordered Garden to exit the car and famous that “he had difficulty maintaining his balance” and dropped his license and a bank card on the bottom, in keeping with the police report.
Garden then proceeded to bomb a subject sobriety take a look at, in keeping with the police report. The report notes that Garden frequently didn’t observe directions and even stabilized himself utilizing each the police officer conducting the exams and a fence publish. Garden then refused to undergo a breathalyzer take a look at.
“You know what I’d rather do,” Garden allegedly informed the officer, “I want to take an Uber and go home.”
He was as an alternative arrested, and he allegedly continued with drunken antics on the Nashua Road Jail.
In line with the police report, officers there needed to regular him as he walked and that he made a large number of a urine pattern course of. Garden allegedly couldn’t work out how one can do the take a look at, and when he lastly peed into the cup, he allegedly then dumped all of it into the bathroom and handed the consumption nurse the empty cup.
Garden didn’t reply a Herald name for remark. The Herald left a message.
Earlier scandal
Garden earlier this yr was topic to marketing campaign finance scrutiny. He purged $14,000 in marketing campaign donations, appointed new marketing campaign workers and paid $500 to cowl the state’s audit of his marketing campaign information, the Herald reported on the time.
State Workplace of Marketing campaign and Political Finance Director William Campbell stated that his workforce “determined that no further action” was warranted on account of Garden’s remedial actions, however cautioned that ought to Garden have marketing campaign finance violations once more, his case could possibly be elevated to the legal professional basic.
Political response
Home Speaker Ron Mariano launched a press release saying that Garden spoke with him and stated he “takes full responsibility for this egregious lapse in judgment, and that he will work to ensure that something like this does not happen again.”
“I was very disappointed to learn of this news. Driving under the influence is an incredibly dangerous and often deadly mistake, and I am relieved that no one was injured in this particular instance,” Mariano wrote.
The Massachusetts Republican Celebration seized on Garden’s arrest to make a broader political level in regards to the excesses of a state managed by a single political get together.
“Wednesday’s arrest is another example of Beacon Hill Democrats using their titles to try and avoid punishment. By declaring himself a lawmaker at the time of his arrest, it’s clear Rep. Lawn sought to escape the consequences of his actions,” MassGOP spokesman Mark Steffen wrote in a press release.
“He should resign and offer the residents of Watertown the chance to elect a new representative who doesn’t ask officers to look the other way when he allegedly breaks the law,” Steffen continued.
Likewise, the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a state suppose tank that promotes fiscal duty in addition to some conservative political positions, stated the arrest opens up broader questions.
“The fact that a sitting lawmaker was leaving a State House event at nearly 2:00 a.m. before being arrested for drunk driving and fleeing the scene of an accident raises serious questions about what exactly is going on behind those closed doors,” MFA Government Director Paul Diego Craney wrote in a press release. “The public deserves to know what kind of event was taking place, who was involved, and what the legislature is doing to hold itself accountable.”
Garden’s “clear signs of intoxication,” Craney added, “is exactly the kind of behavior that reinforces public distrust in Beacon Hill.”
Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat who was previously the state’s chief regulation enforcement officer as legal professional basic, stated she hadn’t but heard of the arrest when requested about it on the Sail Boston press convention on the Boston Harbor Lodge Wednesday afternoon.
“I haven’t heard anything about that,” Healey stated. “Obviously, you know, there’s no tolerance for driving under the influence.”
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