Tim Walz's three-decade-old DUI arrest resurfaces after being chosen as Kamala Harris' VP

WASHINGTON, DC: Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris selected Tim Walz as her running mate on Tuesday during a rally in Philadelphia and said that he is the kind of vice president the country deserves.

Walz was arrested for drunk driving in September 1995 after he was pulled over for driving more than 40 mph above the speed limit.

Tim Waltz was arrested for overspeeding in 1995

Tim Walz was 31 when the incident took place and was working as a teacher in Alliance. He was caught on police radar driving his silver Mazda at 96 mph in a 55 zone just before midnight on September 23, 1995, according to the New York Post.

The court document showed that when the cop approached his window, he found 'a strong odor of alcoholic beverage' coming out from the car.

He failed a field sobriety test and gave a breath test, which showed his blood-alcohol level at 0.128 percent, much more than the state’s legal limit of 0.08 percent. He was arrested and taken to Dawes County Jail.

In March 1996, Walz pleaded to the charges of reckless driving, which needed him to confess that he 'drove a vehicle in a manner as to indicate an indifference or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property', as per a court transcript.

Moreover, Walz’s lawyer Russell Harford tried to explain that Walz was speeding because he thought the cop was 'somebody chasing him,' and alleged that he didn’t fire up the lightbar in a timely fashion.

The lawyer said, "This is a little bit bizarre, but Mr Walz thought somebody was chasing him. The officer didn’t turn on his red lights and he — somebody came up real fast behind him and he didn’t know what they were doing."

He added, "So he sped up to try to get away, fearing that somebody was after him. Lo and behold, it was a state patrolman that was behind him, so the faster he went, the faster the state patrol officer went."

Walz ended up paying a $200 fine along with court costs.

Tim Walz's other controversies

Apart from the 1995 DUI arrest, Ti, Walz had been surrounded by several other controversies. 

Walz has been criticized for the handling of the Minneapolis riots after the 2020 killing of George Floyd, which was a failure and deemed as a low point of his first term as governor.

Minnesota GOP Chairman David Hann told Fox News, "He's been a disaster for Minnesota and is by far the most partisan governor that I can remember having. Going back to 2020, certainly – he did nothing to try to stop the riots going on in Minneapolis. I think he was fearful of alienating his ‘progressive’ base, who were supporting the riots. Kamala Harris was raising money for the rioters."

He also oversaw Minnesota's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and favored heavy-handed pandemic restrictions, including lockdowns and mask mandates. He had also set up a hotline to report residents who violated COVID-19 mandates, as per FOX 9 Minneapolis.

Many Republicans have also blamed him for lax oversight of pandemic programs which was worth millions of taxpayer dollars. The infamous 'Feeding Our Future scandal' is considered one of the country’s largest pandemic aid fraud cases.

Around 70 people were charged by federal prosecutors for defrauding federal food programs that funded meals for children out of $250 million on Walz’s watch.

Earlier in 2024, Walz faced criticism from Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty for his comments on a police shooting case handled by her office.