Baltimore County Councilman Todd Huff Charged With DUI

UPDATED (4:44 p.m.)—Baltimore County Councilman Todd Huff was charged early Saturday with driving under the influence of alcohol.

Huff, a freshman Republican who represents the 3rd Council District, was arrested around 3 a.m. in Towson, according to police spokesman Shawn Vinson.

Huff was stopped by police after his silver Jeep Grand Cherokee was spotted traveling northbound on York Road near Washington Avenue. The vehicle's headlights were off.

According to a statement of charges, Huff ran a red light at the intersection of York and Bosley. When the light turned green, the police officer turned on his emergency lights to signal Huff to pull over.

Huff pulled his county-owned vehicle into the Brooks Huff Tire Center, which is owned by his family, police said.

"Don't you know who I am?" Huff asked the officer, according to a statement of charges released to Patch. "You stopped me on my own property." [The statement of charges is attached to this story.]

The officer noted in the statement of charges that Huff smelled of alcohol and his speech was slurred and his eyes had a glassy appearance.

Huff failed three field sobriety tests, according to the statement.

At several points he asked officers if they "really need to be doing this."

"You need to take me home and be done with this," police quote Huff in the charging documents. "You can just drive me home I will leave the car parked here."

Police also reported observing Huff using his car to steady himself and that he stumbled several times when asked to complete a walking test.

Huff then said he was going to call Baltimore County Police Chief Jim Johnson, according to the police statement. The statement goes on to say that the call was not answered but Huff left a voicemail message saying he had been pulled over for driving without his headlights on and "had had a couple of drinks." 

The councilman then asked several officers if he should take the breath test, according to police. The officers advised him that he could speak to an attorney if he wished. Huff declined, saying he didn't like attorneys, according to the report.

Vinson said Huff was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and an intoximeter test was performed to measure his alcohol level.

According to a statement of charges, Huff's test showed .20 grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath or the equivalent of a .20 blood alcohol level, according to police sources.

That level would be in excess of twice the legal blood alcohol limit in Maryland.

Huff, who represents Timonium and northern Baltimore County, was later released after being issued citations, Vinson said.

Huff did not answer his phone when called by a reporter for comment Saturday morning.

John Fiastro, chairman of the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee, said the party "does not condone such behavior regardless of party affiliation."

"I have reached out to the councilman, but have not talked with him yet," Fiastro said in a text message statement sent to Patch. "The committee will have questions and the councilman should be prepared with answers."

County Council Chairman Tom Quirk Saturday declined to comment on the arrest and called it "a personal matter."

He declined to comment on whether Huff would be asked to give up his county vehicle.

Court records and documents of expunged court cases show that Huff, 44, had three cases against him, including one for leaving the scene of an accident in Anne Arundel County, one for having a gun in his car and a third for passing a $500 bad check, according to a story reported in October 2010 when Huff was seeking office.

He was sentenced to one year in jail in 1995 for leaving the scene of an accident—a misdemeanor—with all but four days suspended. It is unclear how much time Huff actually served in the Anne Arundel County Detention Center.

Also in 1995, Huff received probation before judgment after he was pulled over for speeding. Huff said he told the traffic officer "out of courtesy" that he had a loaded Sig Sauer .380 caliber handgun in his glove box.

In a 2010 interview, Huff said those charges were in the past and were not relevant to his campaign.

"These were 15 years ago and a lot of things have changed," Huff said. "I've grown from my past. I'd like to be judged for what I am now and what I've accomplished."

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