MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse has pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence after crashing into a tree in a subdivision near his home earlier this spring.
Kruse was not in court as the plea was entered Tuesday. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for Aug. 2.
The Manatee County Sheriff's Office previously released deputy body camera video related to the April 20 crash.
In the body camera video, a responding deputy could be heard suggesting Kruse was drunk.
“I just can’t do a DUI because no one can put him behind the wheel," the deputy said at the time. "When I got here, he was in his wife’s car.”
An incident report described the county commissioner as confused and having "glassy eyes, slurred speech, clammy wet skin, and droopy eyelids." Investigators wrote that he was slurring his words while responding to questions at the crash scene.
The incident reports state two different reasons were given for the crash. Kruse originally told law enforcement he was trying to avoid a crash with another driver, but authorities say Kruse told his insurance company he swerved to avoid an animal.
Kruse was not arrested at the time of the crash and only faced a citation for careless driving – which was dropped in exchange for a commitment to attend traffic school.
But, in late June, the State Attorney's Office announced he would be arraigned in July on a single count of DUI.
"...Please bear in mind all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law," prosecutors wrote at the time. "The State Attorney’s Office will not be making any comments while this case is pending."