Tony La Russa, appearing incoherent during arrest, said ‘I’m a Hall of Famer’ to officer

4:33 P.M. (EASTERN TIME)

Jeff Passanpen

Shut up.

• • ESPN MLB Insiders
  • Author of the hand: In the mystery of the billions of dollars of the sport’s most valuable assets…

Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa denounced a policeman with a ring who arrested him for driving a drunk car and said I was a baseball player from the Hall Farmer when I was put in the backseat of the cruiser, according to an incident report received on ESPN.

Russa, 76, was accused of drunk driving through the Maricopa County, Arizona, the prosecution in late October after a blood and breath test on the night of his arrest in February showed his blood alcohol level was over the legal limit of 0.08.

The White Sox said they were aware of imminent charges against La Russa, which were announced the day before the team was officially suspended on March 29. October. This is the second DUI arrest for La Russ, who pleaded guilty to a DUI in Florida in 2007.

2 Related

While the first details of the arrest were contained in the arresting officer’s written statement, the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s report on the incident fills in the gaps and points out that La Russa appears contradictory, repeatedly referring to his Hall of Fame badge and expressing mistrust of blood alcohol testing.

When the officer approached La Russa’s car, which blocked the right lane on Road 143, La Russa said he had a flat tire. I touched something as soon as I turned 43, he said, according to the report.

Russa said he came back from dinner with friends from the California Angels baseball team. (La Russa was a special advisor to the Los Angeles Angels before the White Sox hired her for this job after nine years in a shelter). According to the report, when the officer asked for his identity card, La Russa continued to speak to an AAA representative on the phone instead. The officer repeated the order, and La Ruza threw money and cards on the passenger seat, but did not show his driver’s license. The officer asked him to hang up and give you a permit.

While shuffling his money and cards, La Russa missed his driver’s license twice before finally handing it over to the officer, according to the report.

The officer asked La Russa to step out of the field sobriety test machine. Russa said he had had a hip replacement four weeks earlier and asked for it: Why are we testing? The officer said the smell of alcohol came from La Russ. When the officer mentioned a portable breath test, La Russa said I don’t trust him.

According to the report, La Russa asked at the time: Why do you think I can’t control my facilities?

He agreed to take a breath test if it would get me out of here, according to the report. The test registered a blood alcohol level of 090.

The officer arrested La Russa on a DUI. When he read Miranda her rights, La Russa said… I don’t know my rights because you told me we’d do it as soon as I exploded, according to the report. The officer asked if La Russa had had anything to drink and replied that he had had a glass of wine at dinner, according to the report.

Before the arresting officer put him in the car, La Russa said: See my ring? When asked what he meant, La Russa answered: I’m a Farmer Hall baseball player. He moved on: I’m real. I’m the hall of the camera, brother. You’re trying to embarrass me.

When I arrived on a highway patrol near the La Russa incident, he asked me to make a phone call. At 1:07 a.m., about 90 minutes after his arrest, he asked to speak to his superior, according to the report. He refused to give a blood sample for a BAK test, according to the report.

I will not submit to your tests, La Russa said, according to the report. I don’t trust you.

The officer received a warrant to draw La Russa’s blood, and the test result was a reading from 095 BAK La Russa.

When La Russa called ESPN Monday night, I had nothing to say and I hung up. The message for Larry Kazan, La Russa’s lawyer, went unanswered on Tuesday.

Related Tags: