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State Rep. Cary Pigman's DUI sobriety test on FHP dashcam video

Posted at 4:06 PM, Apr 10, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-10 18:41:17-04

State Rep. Cary Pigman was arrested on March 24 on a DUI charge after a Florida Highway Patrol trooper spotted his Jeep drifting on Florida's Turnpike.

WPTV has obtained the dashcam video of the arrest.

Pigman, 58, who represents a district that includes parts of St. Lucie and Okeechobee Counties, was pulled over on Thursday March 23, around 10:45 PM on the turnpike near the Fort Drum Service Plaza.

An open bottle of wine was found on the front passenger seat of his vehicle.

When asked by the trooper Pigman denied having purchased the wine and denied drinking, though the trooper could detect a smell of alcohol coming from his mouth.

During the roadside test the lawmaker had problems following instructions, he was so off balance that he almost fell during one of the tests.

 

The Breathalyzer test showed he had a blood alcohol level of more than .14, nearly twice the allowable limit.

Following his arrest Pigman stepped down as chair of the house health committee.

Pigman's office released a statement the day after his arrest.

"Last night I was pulled over by the Florida Highway Patrol on the Turnpike in St. Lucie County after a long drive back from Tallahassee," he said in the release. "I was charged with driving under the influence. I want to apologize to my family, my constituents, and my colleagues in the Legislature, for the embarrassment this has caused me and them."