Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Ald. Rey Colon DUI Stop Video Emerges After Not Guilty Ruling

By  Darryl Holliday and Ted Cox | January 28, 2015 7:17pm | Updated on January 29, 2015 5:59am

 A dashboard camera video has surfaced showing Ald. Rey Colon (35th) engaged in a July traffic stop with police before he was charged and eventually found not guilty of driving under the influence.
A dashboard camera video has surfaced showing Ald. Rey Colon (35th) engaged in a July traffic stop with police before he was charged and eventually found not guilty of driving under the influence.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo Chicago

LOGAN SQUARE — A dashboard camera video has surfaced showing 35th Ward Ald. Rey Colon during a July traffic stop with police before he was charged and eventually found not guilty of DUI.

The video shows Colon taking a field sobriety test after being pulled over in the early morning hours of July 25. In the video, given to DNAinfo Chicago by a source who asked not to be named, the Logan Square alderman can be seen wobbling slightly as police conduct the roadside check.

In the 40-minute video, State Police officers pull over Colon’s SUV before making him walk in a straight line and stand on one leg. The alderman, who was driving on a suspended license at the time of the traffic stop, refused a breathalyzer test, was deemed unfit to drive and was later taken to a nearby police station for processing.

Asked about the video Wednesday night, Colon said via text, "Cameras and videos are great tools to determine verdicts of guilt or evidence of innocence."

Watch the video here:

 

Key evidence in the ensuing misdemeanor case included an 18-minute video showing Colon's traffic stop about 1 a.m. at the Homan Avenue exit off the westbound Eisenhower Expy. Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Michael Clarke argued "the evidence is overwhelming" showing Colon waving his arms trying to balance on one foot and failing to walk heel to toe in a straight line.

State Trooper Eric David testified that Colon was driving without his lights on and that his "right tires were clearly over the line" on the right shoulder before being stopped. David said Colon's eyes were "blood-shot glassy red" and that he was, in David's opinion, "unfit to drive."

Colon, who did not testify in his own defense, said after the trial that "the tape was exactly what I remembered" and helped him fight the charges. He said he had originally expected to be waved off and sent on his way by the state trooper who pulled him over.

Colon was found not guilty Jan. 5.

"I woke up this morning trusting that God would do his job and that the justice system would do its job, and I just want to go back to do my job," Colon said immediately after the verdict was rendered by Judge James Pieczonka in Cook County Circuit Court.

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here: