What to know about Tim Walz’s 1995 drunken driving arrest and how he responded

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Now that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is Vice President Kamala Harris ' running mate, his drunken driving arrest from 1995 in Nebraska — long before he entered politics — is getting renewed scrutiny.

Walz was a 31-year-old teacher when he was stopped the night of Sept. 23, 1995, near Chadron, Nebraska. He pleaded guilty in March 1996 to a reduced charge of reckless driving.

Here’s a look back at what happened, and the aftermath as Walz embarked on a political career a decade later, and last week joined the Democratic presidential ticket:

The case

According to court records, a Nebraska state trooper clocked Walz going 96 mph in a 55-mph zone. The trooper wrote that he detected a strong smell of alcohol on his breath. Walz failed field sobriety and preliminary breath tests.

He was taken to a hospital for a blood test and was booked into the Dawes County Jail. A transcript of his plea hearing on March 13, 1996, quotes the prosecutor as saying his blood test showed an alcohol level of 0.128%, compared with a legal limit of 0.10%. Walz’s attorney told the court Walz thought someone was chasing him because the trooper came up fast and didn’t turn on his red lights right away.

The defense attorney acknowledged that Walz had been drinking but argued for a fine, saying his blood alcohol level was “relatively low.” He also noted that Walz was a teacher at a local high school and “felt terrible about this, was real disappointed, I guess, in himself.”

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