Interesting viewing

Police dash-cam footage of the DWI arrest of Guadalupe County, New Mexico Sheriff Robert G. Chavez.

Chavez attempted to explain his miserable failure of the field sobriety tests by claiming that it "was too cold" to perform them properly.

He subsequently refused to take a Breathalyzer test at the police station, so his DUI charge was automatically upgraded to the "aggravated" variety, according to the news story. We look forward, should he be convicted as charged, to seeing him spend some time in his own pokey:

"If this first drunk driving offense is an aggravated DWI, a minimum of 48 hours in jail is mandatory in addition to the other penalties. Aggravated DWI includes driving with an alcohol level of .16% or greater, causing bodily injury while DWI, or refusing to submit to a chemical test while DWI." (emphases mine)

Chavez was also charged with an open container violation and failure to wear a seat belt.

If he had any sense of decency he would resign immediately so that the sad and ridiculous picture of him locked up in his own jail wouldn't become reality, but since he's an elected official and they tend to hold on to their positions with both hands and one foot no matter what they're caught doing, it'll probably come to pass at some point.

Special kudos must be given, however, to the New Mexico State Police troopers who handled the stop and arrest by the numbers, with no special treatment for Chavez just because of what he does for a living. Sincere and heartfelt thanks, fellows.