Arizona lawmaker arrested on extreme DUI charge in Mesa
Dec 20, 2018, 4:11 PM | Updated: Dec 21, 2018, 6:31 am
(Facebook Photo/Arizona State Rep. David Cook)
(Facebook Photo/Arizona State Rep. David Cook)
PHOENIX – An Arizona lawmaker was charged with extreme DUI after being pulled over for driving erratically in East Mesa on Wednesday night, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
A breath test revealed that Rep. David L. Cook, a Pinal County Republican, had a blood alcohol content of .158, nearly twice the legal limit.
Cook, a cattle rancher from Globe, was pulled over on the eastbound Loop 202 near McDowell Road around 11:20 p.m. after a DPS trooper saw the pickup truck he was driving make multiple unsafe lane changes.
According to the DPS arrest report, Cook told the trooper, “Do you know what you are doing, son? You’re making a mistake.”
Cook initially resisted taking field sobriety tests and then performed poorly in them, the report said.
He was arrested and charged with DUI and extreme DUI and his white Ford F-250 was impounded.
When he was served an order suspending his driving privileges, he said, “It’s fine, my wife works at the MVD.”
He was released to his wife, Diana, after 3 a.m. Thursday.
Cook said in a Facebook post Thursday night that he “learned a valuable lesson the hard way last night.”
I learned a valuable lesson the hard way last night, so I want to share it with all of you so you can learn from it as…
Posted by David Cook – Arizona State Representative on Thursday, December 20, 2018
“No lunch, no dinner, and some drinks with friends sounds harmless enough, but get behind the wheel and try to drive home and you’re taking a chance you just shouldn’t take,” he said, calling himself “lucky” for avoiding an accident.
He apologized for the incident and advised people to call a cab or a friend if they have been drinking.
Rep. Rusty Bowers, the incoming speaker, said Cook could face repercussions in the House.
“I’m disappointed and saddened by Representative Cook for failing to meet the standard expected of all Arizonans, much less an elected official,” Bowers said in a statement.
“When I’ve had an opportunity to learn all the facts and speak with Representative Cook and my colleagues about it, I will announce action the House will take against Representative Cook.”
Cook was the leading vote-getter from District 8 in the 2016 and 2018 general elections.
He is chairman of the County Infrastructure Committee and a member of two other committees: Natural Resources, Energy and Water; and Public Safety.
