BRADENTON, Fla. — Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse wants body camera footage with statements he made to a lieutenant following a suspected DUI crash to be tossed in his upcoming court case.
The request to suppress his statements, which also includes footage from a body camera worn by the lieutenant, was made in a recent court filing obtained by 10 Tampa Bay.
Investigators say in April, Kruse crashed his Ford F-150 pickup into a tree in a subdivision near his home.
In the video from a body camera worn by the responding lieutenant, Kruse told the deputy he crashed the truck and can be heard slurring his words while answering questions. The lieutenant is later heard in the video saying, "he’s drunk."
An incident report described the county commissioner as confused and having "glassy eyes, slurred speech, clammy wet skin, and droopy eyelids."
But at the time, Kruse was let go with a citation because deputies couldn’t prove he was the one behind the wheel at the time of the crash.
In the motion, Kruse’s attorney argues the lieutenant went from conducting an accident investigation to a criminal investigation without “changing hats.”
The lieutenant “never notified [Kruse] he was conducting a criminal investigation, and never at any time read him his Miranda warnings,” Kruse’s attorney wrote in the filing. “Failure to do so renders any statements inadmissible in a criminal prosecution.”
His attorney cites a 1993 Florida Supreme Court decision State v Norstrom which says statements made in the course of a post-accident investigation by an individual in police custody are privileged under Florida law until Miranda warnings have been given. The privilege is meant to encourage drivers to honestly explain to investigators what caused a crash.
Kruse has pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence. A hearing date has not yet been set to consider the request to have statements and the body camera video tossed.
His case is scheduled to go to trial on Feb. 6, 2023.