Trying To Make Sense Of The Bruce Springsteen DWI Incident

If you haven’t heard, Bruce Springsteen was arrested for a DWI in November 2020 and the news broke this past weekend. Springsteen was also in Jeep’s Super Bowl ad this year. However, the commercial has since been removed by Jeep. You would think that would be the end of it but, it’s not.

Springsteen was pulled over on his Triumph motorcycle for a photo-op with some fans. Although he initially refused a breathalyzer, it’s reported that Springsteen’s blood-alcohol content was 0.02 when he eventually consented. Obviously, 0.02 is much below New Jersey’s 0.08 limit, which is where he was arrested. That leads to the question – why was he even charged?

Then there was the statement from the arresting officer, R.L. Hayes, released with more info saying:

“While on foot patrol, I observed a male (Bruce F. SPRINGSTEEN) consume a shot of Patron tequila and then get on his motorcycle and start the engine. I contacted SPRINGSTEEN and informed him alcohol is prohibited at Sandy Hook. The Patron bottle that the shot was poured out of was completely empty (750 mL). I asked SPRINGSTEEN if he was leaving and he confirmed that he was going to drive out of the park. SPRINGSTEEN claimed that he had had two shots of tequila in the last 20 minutes. SPRINGSTEEN smelt strongly of alcohol coming off his person and had glassy eyes. I ran SPRINGSTEEN through standardized field sobriety tests. I observed four out of six clues on the horizontal gaze nystagmus test. SPRINGSTEEN was visibly swaying back and forth while I observed his eyes. I observed five out of eight clues on the walk and turn test. SPRINGSTEEN took 45 total steps during the walk and turn instead of the instructed 18. SPRINGSTEEN refused to provide a sample on the preliminary breath test.”

As for Jeep, spokeswoman Diane Morgan reported that the company “paused” the ad and that Jeep did not know about the arrest before it aired. Per public court records, Springsteen has no prior DWIs or even traffic tickets in the state of New Jersey. His first hearing is set for later this month.