A Robbinsdale City Council member who serves as a legislative aide to a senior Democratic senator was arrested this week for driving drunk.
Tyler Kline, 38, crashed his minivan near Highway 100 at Brooklyn Boulevard just after midnight Monday while driving the wrong way, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
He then fled the scene of the accident and re-entered Highway 100 when a Crystal police officer noticed a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction.
The officer activated his emergency lights and attempted to block Kline from entering the highway, but Kline drove around the squad car, made “eye contact with the officer,” and then kept going.
New video from MnDOT shows the moments a Robbinsdale city council member was allegedly driving drunk, fled from a crash scene on Highway 100, drove the wrong way down an exit ramp, and was eventually stopped by officers who had to ram his vehicle.
More on @WCCO at 10. pic.twitter.com/ZkbgtNzQLM
— Nick Streiff (@nickstreiff) January 26, 2022
“A Crystal Police sergeant then attempted a maneuver using his squad car on the vehicle as it exited Highway 100 at County Road 81, still going the wrong way. Defendant continued to flee, and a second maneuver was performed. Officers were eventually able to stop Defendant by driving a squad car into Defendant’s vehicle,” the criminal complaint states.
Kline allegedly ignored several commands to exit his vehicle and was “physically taken out of the driver’s seat.”
“He smelled strongly of a consumed alcoholic beverage, had watery, bloodshot eyes, and had poor balance,” the complaint says.
Kline was taken to the New Hope Police Department where he agreed to provide a breath sample. He had a blood alcohol concentration of .20, more than twice the legal limit.
Kline is in his first term on the Robbinsdale City Council and works as a legislative aide to Democratic Sen. Ann Rest, according to his LinkedIn.
He’s the third Democrat to be arrested for drunk driving in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Rep. Tou Xiong was pulled over by law enforcement and cited for driving drunk.
Hennepin County Sheriff Dave Hutchinson was traveling at speeds of more than 120 miles per hour, with guns and liquor on board, when he drunkenly totaled his unmarked squad car last month.
