Senator Gene Suellentrop was arrested last month after he was allegedly speeding and caught driving the wrong way along a Kansas interstate
The majority leader of the Kansas Senate who was arrested last month after he was allegedly speeding and caught driving the wrong way along an interstate, called a police officer ‘donut boy’ after he tried to test his blood alcohol levels.
The details were contained in an affidavit which recorded the arrest of Senator Gene Suellentrop.
Suellentrop was arrested at about 1am on March 16 by the Capitol Police division of the Kansas Highway Patrol.
After being pursued by police, once Suellentrop’s car came to a complete stop, two Topeka police officers were involved in the traffic stop and told him to switch off his car.
Suellentrop did not respond and appeared confused and frightened with a ‘blank stare,’ according to the affidavit.
He was also instructed twice to step out of the vehicle.
‘While reaching into the vehicle I could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from inside the vehicle,’ read the affidavit.
‘Walking to the Intoxilyzer room he struggled with keeping his balance and I had to hold him by the arm. When requesting a breath sample, he declined, saying, ‘I don’t feel the need to do so,’ the affidavit reads.
After a search warrant was submitted in order to obtain a blood sample, Suellentrop’s demeanor suddenly became ‘slightly aggressive in his tone’ and told the officer he could ‘take me’.He stated he could ‘take me,’ read the affidavit, according to CNN.
Kansas Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop is pictured during a hearing, shortly before his release from custody
In the intoxilyzer room, Suellentrop said: ‘All for going the wrong way. Donut boy.’ according to the affidavit.
The blood results, according to the affidavit, were Ethyl alcohol 0.17 grams per 100 milliliters of blood, more than the legal limit for operating a vehicle.
Law enforcement radio recordings and 911 calls released by the local sheriff’s department in response to an open records request showed also showed multiple people reporting Suellentrop’s white SUV traveling the wrong way on I-470 near a south Topeka exit. That highway loops around the west side of Topeka and connects with I-70, which cuts through the northern half of the city.
‘They about hit me, but I’m OK. I’m fine. They’re not near me, but they’re going the wrong way,’ one 911 caller said. ‘I mean, they weren’t driving reckless – I’m not trying to say they’re driving reckless – but they were in the wrong lane, and it’s just, they met me coming up the on-ramp and scared the crap out of me.’
Suellentrop was the SUV’s only occupant and that a patrol trooper initiated a ‘tactical vehicle intervention’ to stop him on I-70 as he was driving east in the westbound lanes. Law enforcement radio recordings indicated that the trooper put down ‘stop sticks,’ which deflate a vehicle’s tires.
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The law enforcement recordings show that Suellentrop was driving for at least 11 minutes.
‘He almost hit me,’ one officer reported.
Kansas Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop, right, R-Wichita, pictured last month
Suellentrop was booked into the local jail after his arrest, but a judge released him hours later, saying the arrest report did not contain information needed to hold him.
Last week, Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay announced he had filed criminal charges against Suellentrop, including for Eluding or Attempting to Elude Police; Driving Under the Influence; Reckless Driving; Driving the Wrong Way on a Divided Highway; and Speeding.
With the filing of the complaint, an arrest warrant was issued for Suellentrop on the afternoon of March 26.
Suellentrop subsequently turned himself in at the Shawnee County Department of Corrections, just before 5pm. His bond was set at $5,000.
Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson and Vice President Rick Wilborn released a joint statement saying, ‘There are many aspects of the alleged behavior that are deeply disappointing, and severe consequences will be unavoidable.
Suellentrop has now stepped aside from most of the majority leader’s duties following his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence and attempting to flee law enforcement
The charge of attempting to flee law enforcement is a felony that can be punished by between five and seven months in prison for a first-time offender, though the presumed sentence is a year’s probation. The DUI charge is punished by at least 48 hours in jail or 100 hours of public service. The reckless driving charge is punished by between five and 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $500.
The remaining two charges filed against Suellentrop are traffic infractions, speeding and driving the wrong way on a divided highway.
Suellentrop, 69, is a business owner who was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Kansas House in 2009. Voters elected him to the Senate in 2016 and reelected him last year. Fellow Republicans chose him as their majority leader in December.
His public duties during the Senate’s daily sessions – such as asking senators to start a debate, requesting that they adjourn and announcements about the GOP’s plans – are currently being handled by Assistant Majority Leader Larry Alley, a Winfield Republican.
Suellentrop holds the state Senate’s second-highest leadership job, and the majority leader decides which proposals are debated each day. Suellentrop announced last week that he was stepping away from most of the majority leader’s duties until matters surrounding his arrest are resolved.
The Senate’s top leader, President Ty Masterson, and its No. 3 leader, Vice President Rick Wilborn, both Republicans, issued a joint statement saying that they are talking to GOP senators ‘about how to proceed most effectively.’
‘We are thankful that no one was injured,’ they said, ‘and we continue to pray for Gene and his family.’
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