FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — The mayor of Indiana’s second-largest city had a blood alcohol reading nearly twice the state’s limit for driving when he was arrested over the weekend for drunken driving, court records show.
Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry’s blood alcohol level was 0.152% after he was arrested Saturday night following a crash, according to the records. Indiana’s legal limit to drive is 0.08%.
Henry told arresting officers he had “too many glasses of wine at a fundraiser” held at a downtown Fort Wayne theater, the records state. The mayor was swaying, had watery, bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, and was argumentative, according to an arrest report.
Police said Henry was driving and his wife and mother-in-law were passengers when he drove left of center Saturday night and struck another car. The woman driving the other car was not injured.
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Henry was charged Monday with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.15% or more, both misdemeanors. He was scheduled for an initial court hearing Monday afternoon.
After his release Sunday from the Allen County jail, Henry, 70, read a statement to reporters apologizing “for the poor decision I made to get behind the wheel” after drinking at the event.
“Like every other resident of the city of Fort Wayne, I will be held accountable for those actions in future legal proceedings,” he said. “I respect the legal process. I will adhere to the legal process. And I will accept the consequences.”
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Henry, a Democrat who was first elected in 2007, has said he plans to run again in 2023. Fort Wayne, population 265,000, is 120 miles (190 kilometers) northeast of Indianapolis.
