Further details surrounding Bruce Springsteen’s DWI charges are emerging.
A police officer says he saw Springsteen “consume a shot of Patron tequila and then get on his motorcycle and start the engine,” according to a probable-cause statement obtained by CNN. Springsteen told the officer he had two shots in the previous 20 minutes, the report adds. The officer further noted that “Springsteen smelt strongly of alcohol coming off his person and had glassy eyes.”
Meanwhile, Vulture says Springsteen was asked to do two field field sobriety tests: The horizontal-gaze test, in which a suspect is asked to keep their head still and follow an item such as a pen only with their eyes, and a “walk and turn” test.
Springsteen reportedly “observed four out of six clues” on the sight exam, and the officer noted Springsteen was “visibly swaying back and forth while I observed his eyes.” He allegedly took 45 steps rather than the “instructed 18” on the walking exam. TMZ has obtain the full police report, which can be viewed here.
Earlier reports claimed that Springsteen was approached by fans to take pictures and only took one shot of tequila with them before returning to his motorcycle. The incident, which happened in November but only came to light this week, took place in the Gateway National Recreation Area in Sandy Hook, N.J.
A new story in the Asbury Park Press also says Springsteen’s blood alcohol content was 0.02, only a quarter of the state’s legal limit.
“When this is all resolved, I think, people are gonna have some serious doubts about the seriousness of this, especially when the actual details of this are revealed – including the blood alcohol level,” the source close to Springsteen told CNN.
“I don’t know why they stopped him,” the source added, commenting on the police. “I mean technically you’re not allowed to drink in a state park – and I don’t know, maybe, if a policeman sees somebody drinking and doesn’t give them a ticket, they lose their job.” Though the source noted that “any kind of alcohol-related driving thing is serious,” they clearly believe a bigger deal is being made of the incident than is warranted.
Glenn Kassman, a criminal and municipal defense attorney in New Jersey who specializes in DWI cases, believes the charges against Springsteen will be hard to prove.
“I would say that they’re never going to prove DWI based on that [police report],” Kassman tells Rolling Stone. “There is a chasm — a grand canyon — between probable cause to arrest on suspicion of drunk driving or operating a vehicle in an intoxicated condition, and proof beyond reasonable doubt that he did so.”