Michael Phelps' breath test was .14

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Wednesday, October 1, 2014

BALTIMORE -- Police documents indicate that Olympic swimming great Michael Phelps registered .14 percent on a Breathalyzer test after he was stopped on a speeding violation.

The legal limit for intoxication in Maryland is .08.

The statement of probable cause by the Maryland Transportation Authority police also says Phelps' eyes were red and bloodshot, and "his speech was mush mouth."

Phelps, 29, was charged Tuesday with driving under the influence, excessive speed and crossing double lane lines in the Fort McHenry Tunnel on Interstate 95 in his native Baltimore, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority.

The statement says the officer administered field sobriety tests to Phelps. Asked to do a one-leg stand, the statement says, "the operator stated 'that's not happening.'"

The arresting officer wrote that after he placed Phelps in custody, the swimmer appeared "disoriented, argumentative."

An officer stopped Phelps, who was driving 84 mph in a 45-mph zone, at roughly 1:40 a.m. on Tuesday after the Olympian cleared the tunnel toll plaza, according to charging documents. The officer also observed Phelps drift out of his lane while driving toward the tunnel.

According to the documents the officer smelled alcohol in the car, and when he asked Phelps how much he'd had to drink, the swimmer said "3 or 4 drinks," adding that his last drink was two hours prior and that he drank a glass of water before leaving the Horseshoe Casino in downtown Baltimore.

When the officer asked Phelps to get out of the car, the officer said he smelled alcohol on Phelps' breath, and administered three field sobriety tests, including a walk and turn test. Phelps "broke heel to toe stance" several times throughout the examination and at one point began counting out loud. Phelps completed the test "while having difficulty with his balance while walking," the officer wrote.

Phelps was placed under arrest after initially refusing to take the one leg stand test. Shortly afterward, the officer wrote, Phelps asked to take the test by the side of the road, but "appeared disoriented, argumentative and did not attempt the test."

He did, however, end up taking the one leg stand test at the transit police station, but was "swaying slightly and did not look at his elevated foot as instructed," the officer wrote.

Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time with 22 Olympic medals, including 18 gold.

He retired after the 2012 London Olympics, but made a comeback to competition in April and won three gold medals while representing the United States' team in last month's Pan Pacific championships.

This is Phelps' second DUI charge in Maryland. The first charge was in 2004 on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and he received 18 months' probation and a $250 fine. Phelps also was required to deliver a presentation on alcohol awareness to students at three high schools.

He also generated negative attention in 2009, when a photo in a British newspaper showed him inhaling from a marijuana pipe.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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