Shortly after midnight on August 11, a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado plowed into a parked car on South G Street in Tacoma, Washington, setting off a chain reaction that damaged five vehicles. Behind the wheel was Krista Perez, the Democratic candidate for Washington's 29th Legislative District. Perez is now set to face incumbent state Rep. Melanie Morgan in the November general election.
The officer asked if she'd been drinking. She said she had some wine. He asked how much. She said one glass. He asked how big the glass was.
"I think you might need to contact the business," Perez replied.
The bodycam footage, just released this week, captures what happened next in clinical detail. The officer asked Perez to rate her own level of sobriety on a scale of zero to ten, with zero being completely sober. She tried to dodge the question — "Not right now. I'd like to go home first" — but when pressed a second time, she gave her answer.
Four.
A candidate for state legislature, on camera, in the middle of a five-car wreck she allegedly caused, rated herself a four out of ten on sobriety. That's not a misquote. That's not taken out of context. That is a woman who wants to write laws for the state of Washington admitting, on police bodycam, that she was less than half sober.
The officer offered her standardized field sobriety tests. He told her they were "totally voluntary." Perez declined. "Yeah, I would like to go home first," she said. When the officer moved to place her under arrest, the composure cracked entirely: "Hold on. Hold on. One second. Hold on."
Then came the patrol car footage.
Perez spent several minutes sobbing and praying in the back seat. "Help me, God. Help me. Help me. Holy Spirit, help me, God," she said through tears. The footage runs for minutes. The prayers don't stop.
At Tacoma Police headquarters, things didn't improve. Officers attempted to administer a breath test. Perez failed to provide a usable sample after three attempts before the machine timed out. Tacoma prosecutors charged her with DUI with a refusal enhancement — the enhancement stemming specifically from the failed breath test at headquarters.
Perez had also initially denied involvement in the crash. When the officer first asked whether she'd been in an accident, her response was flat: "I did not." This while her Silverado sat next to five damaged vehicles on South G Street.
Washington state law, as it happens, permits individuals with DUI charges to serve in the state legislature. So technically, nothing prevents Perez from continuing her campaign. Whether voters in the 29th District consider a four-out-of-ten sobriety score a qualification for office is another question.
She's not the first Washington Democrat with an alcohol problem that went public. House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon acknowledged earlier this year that he had been drinking before a House Appropriations Committee hearing, issuing a statement that read: "I made a poor choice last night by drinking alcohol before we had finished our work for the day. I am disappointed in myself and take responsibility for that poor choice. It won't happen again, and I'm committed to completing my work this session without alcohol."
Fitzgibbon showed up impaired to do his job. Perez showed up impaired to operate a truck. The Washington state Democratic bench has a pattern, and the pattern involves asking voters to trust people who don't trust themselves behind a steering wheel.
Somewhere on a scale of zero to ten, the voters of the 29th District are going to rate that.
