Kansas Reflector: “Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop reeked of alcohol, struggled to speak or walk, and threatened the Kansas Highway Patrol officer who stopped him in the early hours of March 16 for driving the wrong way on Interstate 70 in Topeka. The details of the arrest were made available Thursday following the release of his charging affidavit in Shawnee County District Court. Kansas Reflector and other news media filed motions with the court seeking the document’s release. Suellentrop faces a felony charge for fleeing a police officer, misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence and reckless driving, and traffic infractions for driving the wrong way on a divided highway and speeding. KHP Officer Austin Shepley’s report says Suellentrop’s alcohol level was 0.17 grams per 100 milliliters of blood. The legal limit in Kansas is 0.08.”

“‘As I approached the driver, he had his left hand out the window and looked back at me with a confused, frightened, blank stare,’ Shepley said. ‘He was not registering my commands or responding to them.’ With the help of a Topeka police officer, Shepley removed Suellentrop from the vehicle and placed him under arrest. They didn’t perform a field sobriety test because of safety concerns. ‘Sitting inside the vehicle with Suellentrop, I could smell a strong odor of alcoholic beverage coming from his person,’ Shepley said. ‘I also noticed his eyes were watery, droopy, and he had bloodshot eyes. While speaking with him, I was not able to understand what he was saying as he was mumbling words with slurred speech.’ Shepley initially took Suellentrop to the Docking State Office Building for a breath test. Suellentrop ‘had trouble with his motor skills’ while exiting the officer’s vehicle, lost his balance and almost fell. Inside, Suellentrop refused to take a breath sample, saying, ‘I don’t feel the need to do so.’ Suellentrop called the officer ‘donut boy’ and complained this was ‘all for going the wrong way.'”