The footage shows the Hayes County Commissioner being arrested while intoxicated.

Austin – Hayes County Commissioner Walt Smith repeatedly stumbled in pain and claimed his eyes were burned during a 2021 police interaction that ended with him being charged with driving under the influence, bodycam footage obtained by KSAT Investigates . show.

Forty minutes of video footage of Smith’s April 2021 car crash and subsequent arrest in Austin was released to KSAT on request for public recordings, months after Smith stated he did not dispute the obstruction to the driveway.

The charge has the same class B misdemeanor designation as the first offense of driving under the influence, but is not a drunk driving charge and generally requires the defendant to pay less fines and court costs than a plea bargain for driving under the influence intoxicated.

Smith, who has repeatedly pleaded not guilty since signing a plea agreement with the Travis County District Attorney’s office, was sentenced in September to nine months of community supervision and a five-month order to install an ignition interlock device in his car, court documents show. .

Records show that in early November he paid over $500 in fines and legal fees.

“I’m sorry. I’ll start. I’m sorry.”

Smith was driving a pickup truck just after 3 a.m. on April 28, 2021, when officers said he collided with a large van at an intersection along Lake Austin Boulevard.

Smith ran a red light before crashing into a box truck, causing the larger truck to overturn and drag Smith’s pickup several hundred feet, the footage said.

A truck driven by Commissioner Walt Smith (left) collided with a van, causing it to roll over on its side. (KSAT)

Smith initially told officers that he was fine, but then began complaining of pain in his right knee, as seen in the footage.

He refused medical attention at the scene six times.

“If I thought I needed it, I would ask for it. But my knee just hurts,” Smith said in the footage.

The footage shows that the driver of the other truck was not seriously injured during the accident.

Smith told police that he attended an overnight hearing at the State Capitol, about two miles from the crash site, and was returning to his family’s home in Driftwood, southwest of Austin.

He told officers that he drank two drinks and received a 2 on a scale of 0 to 10, where zero means he was not drunk at all and 10 is the most drunk he has ever been in his life.

Smith, who was cordial but occasionally argued with officers on videotape, repeatedly doubled over in pain and struggled to take part in a field sobriety test.

“I’m sorry. I’ll start. I’m sorry,” Smith said, struggling to complete the test while standing on one leg.

Commissioner Walt Smith winces in pain during a field sobriety test on April 28, 2021. (KSAT)

Officers noted that Smith was swaying and emitting a strong odor of alcohol, according to Smith’s arrest report.

When the arresting officer turned on the light to check for horizontal gaze nystagmus, Smith reached for his eyes and repeated repeatedly that they were on fire.

He blamed the disease on the powder getting into his eyes due to the truck’s airbags deploying.

Commissioner Walt Smith rubs his eyes during a field sobriety test in April 2021. (KSAT)

Smith then repeatedly refused to provide a breath sample at the scene, footage shows.

After the arresting officer completed a field sobriety test, he placed Smith under arrest for drunk driving.

Commissioner Walt Smith was handcuffed in April 2021. (KSAT)

After signing a plea agreement with prosecutors in September, Smith released a statement as part of his campaign, calling it a “minor traffic accident” and that the case ended with his “proof of innocence”.

The statement repeatedly contradicts footage of his detention and falsely claims that the officers who arrived at the scene were unaware of his desecration.

Several officers on video tapes suspected Smith of a disability.

The full statement reads:

“During my career, I have attended hundreds of legislative hearings and negotiations in support of initiatives and on behalf of my constituents, which sometimes go on until late at night. On April 28, 2021, while leaving the Capitol, I was involved in a minor traffic accident with a local delivery truck. I called 911, spoke to the officers on arrival, and was taken to the hospital for evaluation of the leg injury. While in the hospital, I was informed that I was detained for drunk driving, although they did not take blood from me, did not put a breathalyzer, and the employees who arrived at the scene did not express any suspicions of a health disorder. After examining the evidence, the DUI charge was dropped and instead I was charged with a traffic violation for obstructing the passage. Due to the pandemic, the Travis County court system was overwhelmed and was unable to hear my case for almost a year and a half. While I wish this matter had been addressed sooner, my attorney was finally able to meet with prosecutors on September 16, 2022, who agreed that the DUI charge should be dropped. While it is easy to jump to judgment, our judicial system exists to ensure that evidence is dealt with fairly and that decisions are accurate. I take my position as County Commissioner and the safety of our community seriously, and continue my service with gratitude for the fair handling of this matter and the confirmation of my innocence.”

Smith did not respond to an email late last month asking for an interview for this story.

Instead, a lawyer representing Smith sent an email claiming that Smith took responsibility for his actions.

After KSAT appeared at a hearing in the Hayes County Commissioner’s Court on February 28, Smith said he did not see the footage, but reiterated that he was innocent.

“I think the evidence was very clear when the prosecutor would have acted differently,” Smith said ahead of the hearing.

He disagreed with the KSAT’s additional question about the extent of his injuries that night, as the officers in the footage were repeatedly skeptical about whether he was injured.

Hayes County Commissioner Walt Smith. (KSAT)

The arresting officer repeatedly told Smith that he was “fine” in the footage.

“It’s very clear from the nature of your question that you don’t want to get to the bottom of the situation,” Smith said, adding that he was treated in hospital for knee and eye injuries following the accident.

“If you need a longer interview or something, I would appreciate it if you could contact us like last week,” said Smith, who again did not respond to KSAT’s initial request for an interview. .

Copyright 2023 by KSAT – All rights reserved.

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The post The footage shows the Hayes County Commissioner being arrested while intoxicated.

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