AUSTIN, Texas — Dashcam video of State Sen. Charles Schwertner's (R-Georgetown) DWI arrest in February has been released.
The video shows Austin Police Department (APD) officers pulling Schwertner over near Avenue B and West 45th Street just after midnight on Feb. 7. According to officers, Schwertner was pulled over after his SUV swerved out of its lane.
Schwertner allegedly smelled like alcohol, despite claiming that he was sober. The video shows Schwertner undergoing a field sobriety test before being taken into custody by officers. Court documents allege that Schwertner refused a breathalyzer test and had a slurred speech pattern.
Schwertner was charged and booked into the Travis County Jail on a single charge of DWI, but the Travis County's Attorney's office dismissed the case in July after reviewing the evidence.
According to report by The Texas Tribune, the incident wasn't Schwertner's first brush with scandal. In 2018, he was accused of sending sexually explicit photos of his genitals to a University of Texas graduate student. He denied the allegations, stating that someone else sent the messages using his LinkedIn account and another privacy phone messaging app that belongs to him.
An investigation from the University of Texas described Schwertner as uncooperative and did not clear him of wrongdoing. However, the university concluded that it could not prove that he sent the texts.
Following the sexual harassment allegation, Schwertner gave up his chairmanship of the Texas Senate's Health and Human Services Committee.
Schwertner is a chairman of the Senate Committee on Business and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Constitutional Issues. He also serves as a member of the Senate Committees on Education, Finance, State Affairs and on the Legislative Budget Board and Texas Sunset Advisory Commission.
In May, Schwertner became the President Pro Tempore of the Texas Senate, succeeding fellow Republican Kelly Hancock (R-Fort Worth).