Another Michigan Judge Busted For Being Super Drunk After Rear-Ending A SMART Bus In Suburban Detroit
Newly released video shows another Michigan judge busted for being super drunk. Judge John Chmura’s blood alcohol content was 0.19, more than twice Michigan’s legal limit whe rear-ended a SMART bus in March.
The video shows Chmura struggling to count backwards and say the ABCs during sobriety tests. Body camera footage shows Chmura telling the officer who approached him that he was a judge in Warren’s 37th District Court.
Wearing a suit and tie, Chmura told Sterling Heights Officer Johnathan Journeau that he had been drinking at a fundraiser for a hopeful Macomb County Circuit Court judge hopeful. Chmura also admitted that he had drank “evidently too much.”
“It’s not OK. It’s bad, it’s bad,” he said after struggling to recite the alphabet.
Another Michigan Judge Busted For Being Super Drunk
Chmura, 63, who has been a district court judge for 30 years, rear-ended the SMART bus just before midnight March 25. He was charged on May 20th with operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.17 or more, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.
Chmura’s attorney David Kramer, said he did not want to comment on the case, but added:
Chmura told Journeau he did not want to do the roadside sobriety tests. He also refused to allow Journeau to give him a preliminary breath test to see how intoxicated he was.
Chmura ultimately agreed to do the sobriety tests and struggled to understand the instructions Journeau gave him. He made several mistakes while counting backwards. He twice counted up instead of down. When asked to recite the alphabet from C to N, Chmura started over several times and could not tell Journeau what letter came after I.
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Chmura swayed slightly as Journeau conducted the roadside sobriety tests. Earlier in the arrest, he had to prop himself up on his car with his hand on multiple occasions.
During Chmura’s arrest, Journeau said Chmura was “visibly impaired.”
Journeau wrote in the police report that Chmura appeared to be unsteady on his feet, smelled of alcohol and spoke with slurred speech.
Chmura ultimately said he would take a preliminary breath test, but Journeau said that time had passed. Chmura agreed to do a blood test to confirm his blood alcohol level.
A few minutes later, one of the officers said he was going to let Chmura take the preliminary breath test despite his earlier refusal. The officer said Chmura blew a 0.16, which is double the legal limit of 0.08. His blood alcohol content, tested later at the hospital, was 0.19, according to the police report.
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