Chesterfield Township ― Eminem’s ex-wife Kim Mathers was arrested May 13 on another drunk driving charge after registering a blood alcohol content more than two times Michigan’s legal limit, following a crash with a parked car in a Chesterfield Township residential neighborhood, according to police body cam footage.
In the video that The Detroit News obtained from the Chesterfield Township Police Department under a public records request, a police officer performs a breath test on Mathers and said her blood alcohol content is 0.20. The state legal limit is under 0.08.
Mathers, 51, can be seen closing her eyes and moving her head to the side as she is told that her BAC is nearly three times the legal limit.
The footage shows the officer handcuffing her, and she enters a police vehicle.
“You made a mistake tonight,” Officer Michael Seabolt said while arresting her. “It sucks, but we got to get through it.”
Mathers was charged with operating while intoxicated, third offense, according to District Court 42-2 records. This is automatically a felony charge under Michigan law.
Mathers faces up to a year in jail or up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. Other possible penalties include a driver’s license revocation of up to five years, the forfeiture of her vehicle and community service.
An attorney listed as representing Mathers in the February case did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment. Court records said she would be represented by a public defender at her arraignment, which is scheduled in District Court 42-2 on May 28 at 9 a.m. before Judge William Hackel.
Officer tells Mathers: ‘You’re slurring really bad’
On May 11, Mathers pleaded no contest to charges stemming from a February hit-and-run crash in which she was allegedly intoxicated. She was charged with operating while impaired and failure to stop after a collision, which are punishable by no more than 93 days in jail.
A no-contest plea is treated as a guilty plea for sentencing, even though Mathers did not admit guilt in the February incident.
In the body camera footage released Wednesday of the May 13 arrest, police were called to a location in Chesterfield Township where a caller reported to 911 “a lady slamming” into a car and being drunk, according to police video.
Mathers was distraught when she was initially approached by an officer, saying she had wrecked a new car. She told the officer that when she was coming around the corner while driving, a truck had its high beams on, and she tried to put hers on.
She swerved out of the way of the truck, and she “clipped” a parked vehicle, she said. She appeared to become emotional and then composed herself.
Seabolt asked Mathers whether she had been drinking at all that day. “You’re slurring really bad,” he said.
Mathers responded that she drank earlier, but “not recently.” When the officer asked if she drank “a lot” earlier, she said no.
How Mathers performed on sobriety tests
Mathers later appeared to have difficulty with one sobriety test in which the officer asked her to follow his finger with her eyes only. She followed the officer’s finger by turning her head even though she was instructed not to turn her head.
When the officer instructed her not to turn her head, Mathers responded: “I’m not trying to….”
Seabolt then performed a preliminary breath test on her, and he said she was at “almost three times the legal limit” for blood alcohol content.
A police report of the incident said Mathers’ blood alcohol content was 0.204. In Michigan, it’s a crime for a motorist to have a content of 0.08 or higher if they’re over 21 years old or 0.02 or higher if they’re under 21, according to the Michigan State Police.
The officers handcuffed her and then directed her to a police vehicle. She then got into the car.
Past charges that Mathers has faced
Among other penalties that Mathers faces in the latest case, she could have her driver’s license revoked, her license plate confiscated, her vehicle forfeited and a driver responsibility fee of $1,000 imposed for two consecutive years.
This is the latest in a series of run-ins with the law.
In October 2015, Mathers drove a Cadillac Escalade into a utility pole and ultimately into a ditch at 23 Mile and Card roads in Macomb Township. The court case records were sealed.In May 2016, she told a Detroit radio show host during an interview that the crash was a suicide attempt. Mathers also admitted to drinking a fifth of Malibu rum before the crash.A district court judge later denied her request to throw out evidence and dismiss the case.Mathers was sentenced to a fine and probation in November 2016.
In 2003, Mathers was arrested on charges of possession of a controlled substance of less than 25 grams, driving with a license suspended, revoked, or denied, and failure to use due care while passing a stationary emergency vehicle. And in 2004, she was found in violation of probation on the drug charges and was sentenced to 30 days in jail and 90 days in a drug rehab program.
asnabes@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Kim Mathers blows 0.2 BAC, hit with drunk driving charge. Watch video
Reporting by Anne Snabes, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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