Nationals general manager Jim Bowden was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in Miami this past weekend after running a stop sign.
Bowden, reached by phone, said he refused to take a breathalyzer test and will plead not guilty. No court date has been set. He declined further comment.
According to the Miami Beach police report, Bowden, driving a 2006 Cadillac STS, ran a stop sign on a main road in South Beach and was stopped by police at 2:22 a.m. Monday.
Officers wrote that there was a “strong smell of an alcoholic beverage” in the car driven by Bowden. On the report, they described him as having “bloodshot eyes, glassy eyes, flush red face and slurred speech.” He failed sobriety tests, leading to his arrest.
A few minutes before he was stopped, Bowden and his girlfriend were apparently involved in an altercation that left him with scratches and resulted in battery and resisting arrest charges against her.
A second police report said that about 10 minutes before Bowden was pulled over, two officers saw he and his girlfriend, 36-year-old Joy Browning, arguing along nearby Ocean Drive. After assuring police that everything was fine, they drove off and allegedly ran through the stop sign.
Police then noticed that Bowden had scratches on his right ear and left cheek and told Browning she would be arrested for a domestic violence charge. She refused to get out of the car and struck one of the officers twice after he took her cell phone, police said.
“I deeply regret any embarrassment that my arrest may cause the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball,” Bowden said in a statement released by the team. “On the advice of legal counsel, I will have no further comment regarding this incident until the court proceedings are complete.”
Because he refused to take a breathalyzer test, his driver?s license was suspended for at least six months under Florida law. Bowden had a California driver?s license.
Bowden?s future in Washington is in limbo. Though he?s under contract for the rest of the season, the team could have a new owner in place within a week. That person will eventually decide his fate.
“I have talked to Jim Bowden about the regrettable incident that took place Sunday night,” Nationals president Tony Tavares said in a statement. “The Washington Nationals will monitor the situation as it works its way through the court system and will not make any comment or take any action until the legal issues are resolved.”
? The Associated Press contributed to this story
