A Manatee County commissioner could face a DUI charge after crash in neighborhood
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office is recommending a DUI charge against Commissioner George Kruse after a traffic crash less than one mile away from his home.
Around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20, the 46-year-old commissioner was involved in a vehicle crash, according to a public records request obtained by the Bradenton Herald.
Kruse has not been arrested.
The Bradenton Herald requested all reports related to the investigation, but reports provided by the sheriff’s office were nearly entirely redacted, or blacked out. It did note the responding officer did not have him perform field sobriety exercises nor was a breathalyzer test administered or sample of urine or blood collected.
Kruse could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.
Sheriff Rick Wells would not comment on the case, citing an active investigation into the crash. The sheriff’s office plans to release additional details later, he said.
The deputy who responded to the crash was a lieutenant working an off-duty detail in the Greyhawk Landing subdivision.
The lieutenant wrote a supplemental report and a capias request three days after the crash. That capias request — recommending a charge of driving under the influence — has since been sent to the State Attorney’s Office, spokesman Randy Warren said.
When law enforcement sends a capias request to the State Attorney’s Office, an arrest isn’t immediately made. A prosecutor reviews the information to determine whether to file formal charges and seek a warrant.
An internal affairs investigator was also assigned to investigate the case on the day following the crash. That investigator penned a supplemental investigative report on April 28 and the lieutenant completed another supplemental report on April 29.
Those reports were also heavily redacted.
Kruse was first elected in 2020 to a four-year term on the Manatee Board of County Commissioners.
This story was originally published May 3, 2022 at 5:50 AM.
