The Passenger

County Councilman Todd Huff Monday acknowledged making "a very poor decision" when he got behind the wheel of his county-owned vehicle and later was arrested for drunken driving.

But that decision following what he called "a few drinks" at the Towson Elks Lodge may have been compounded early Saturday morning by a decision to not allow a sober passenger to drive.

Baltimore County Police confirmed Monday that Cheryl Huff was a passenger in the silver Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by the councilman at the time of the incident in Towson.

A statement of charges released Saturday shows that police released Todd Huff to Cheryl Huff, who is married to the councilman, following his brief arrest.

Several attorneys pointed out that police would not have released the councilman into the custody of someone who was intoxicated and incapable of driving.

The councilman has not spoken publicly about the weekend arrest or the presence of a passenger in the vehicle at the time.

In a statement issued yesterday, Todd Huff apologized but offered little in the way of explanation for the events that occurred over the weekend. He announced he was relinquishing his county-owned vehicle.

He made his first public appearance today during a council work session in Towson. He left immediately after the meeting and answered no questions.