He was observed weaving from lane to lane in a white 2012 Ford van, and had two near collisions with two other vehicles before a California Highway Patrol officer pulled him over early Saturday morning.
Those were two new revelations gleaned from a police report provided by the California Highway Patrol on Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch’s arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol over the weekend.
Officer Sam Morgan, the public information officer for the CHP’s Oakland station, said Lynch was spotted by a police officer traveling on Interstate 880 about 3:20 a.m. Saturday morning.
According to the report, Lynch had difficulty maintaining his lane and was observed weaving from lane to lane. Lynch was driving alone at the time.
Per the report, Lynch exited the highway in Emeryville after receiving a command from police to pull over.
And after submitting to a preliminary field-sobriety test, officers determined that Lynch was impaired, and he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Lynch was detained by police and transported to Alameda County Sheriffs department north county jail in Oakland.
Morgan indicated that Lynch was cooperative throughout the process.
“There was no sign of any combativeness or antagonism,” Morgan said. “He went with the program, so to speak. He did his thing, we did our thing and everybody went home in one piece.”
Once at the jail, Morgan said that according to state law, Lynch was given the choice of three different methods to determine a person’s blood alcohol content level – blood, breath or urine. A breathalyzer test showed Lynch was over the state’s legal limit of 0.08.
Asked what Lynch’s blood alcohol content level was, Morgan indicated that the California Highway Patrol’s policy is not to release the specific blood alcohol level reading for an individual who has been detained.
According to Morgan, Lynch was booked into jail at about 5:15 a.m. He was later released.
The CHP will submit its report to the Alameda County District Attorney’s office, which will determine whether to press charges. According to a person within that office, they have yet to receive the report.
Lynch has a pending court date in Alameda Superior Court of Aug. 14, which occurs during Seahawks training camp.
Along with the Seahawks, the league confirmed that it’s aware of the incident and is monitoring the situation.
Because it is Lynch’s third incident dating back to his time in Buffalo, he could be subject to a suspension based on the league’s personal-conduct policy, even if no charges are filed.
Lynch already was suspended by the NFL for three games in 2009 after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor weapons charge.
However, this incident is Lynch’s first DUI offense, and typically league commissioner Roger Goodell does not suspend first-time offenders.
So there appears to be some leeway to how Goodell could handle the situation.
Lynch is the third Seattle player to have a brush with the law this offseason. Linebacker Leroy Hill was arrested for marijuana possession, but a urine test for the drug came back negative and charges were dropped.
Offensive lineman Jarriel King was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman who was intoxicated. King was immediately released after the team found out about the incident through the media.
eric.williams@thenewstribune.com 253-597-8437 blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks
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