PERRYSBURG, Ohio — On Tuesday, Perrysburg Mayor Tom Mackin waived his arraignment hearing, pleading not guilty after being pulled over and arrested, Saturday night for operating a motor vehicle under the influence.
Mackin is due in court next week, but WTOL 11 has spoken to a local attorney who said that the facts of the case may make for a difficult prosecution because Mackin's blood-alcohol content test showed he was below Ohio's legal limit.
Court documents show Mackin told authorities that he was driving home from a basketball game and made a quick stop at a sports bar where he had a single beer.
In his incident report, Perrysburg Police Officer Forrest Braddock said he saw multiple signs of intoxication, first spotting Mackin's vehicle drifting in his lane during his drive. Braddock also reported that the mayor seemed confused when asked to hand over his insurance documents.
"My only concern is I've asked for your insurance and you handed me a different cards and everything like that," Braddock can be heard saying on footage from the officer's body camera.
Following that exchange, Mackin also failed field sobriety tests. Braddock reported that Mackin's eyes were bloodshot and he could smell alcohol.
However, blood-alcohol content tests showed that Mackin's BAC was 0.035%. In Ohio, the legal limit for a person 21 years old or older is 0.08% blood-alcohol content.
Mackin also told officers he was tired and nervous.
He has pleaded not guilty to the OVI charge.
Perrysburg Attorney Andy Mayle isn't Mackin's attorney, but he's seen plenty of OVI cases. He told WTOL 11 that drivers can be arrested even with a blood-alcohol content level lower than the legal limit.
"The state can still try to prove a general state of impairment through bad driving, slurred speech, irrational or erratic behavior," Mayle said.
But Mayle believes this case will be difficult to prosecute.
"Maybe they'll say he has such a low tolerance that 0.035% will impair him," Mayle said. "I think they'll need expert testimony for that, maybe they'll say he was on some basic medication that shouldn't have been mixed with alcohol."
And while Mackin told authorities he was on heart medication after a recent surgery, Mayle said trying to prove that he was having a negative interaction with said medication from one beer could be a legal challenge.
"I think they would be allowed to make that case, but I think that would be an extremely difficult case," Mayle said.
We reached out to the city of Perrysburg on the matter, their representatives declined to comment.
Mackin is scheduled to be in court next week.
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