Geno Smith won’t face DUI charges for 2022 arrest

Smith’s blood-alcohol content was well below the legal limit of .08.

We finally have an update to bring you on Geno Smith’s arrest way back in January 2022.

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office announced on Thursday that Smith, who was booked under suspicion of Driving Under the Influence (DUI), will not face charges after the prosecution concluded that they don’t “believe we can prove DUI or reckless driving beyond a reasonable doubt.”

More details from the Seattle Times:

The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said Smith’s blood alcohol level was .038, less than half the limit where a driver can be determined to be legally impaired. The level of THC in his blood was just over half of the level at which prosecutors can prove DUI, the agency said in a statement.

[…]

Thursday’s statement said that prosecutors did not have evidence to “rebut likely explanations for his bad driving” and while they could show that he had alcohol and marijuana in his system “and that in general those two substances have a compounding effect,” they don’t have evidence showing “exactly what effect they had on” Smith.

Prosecutors concluded a “reasonable doubt exists as to whether his ability to drive was affected by alcohol or marijuana.”

There was a backlog of blood tests with the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson, hence it took nearly 18 months to finally process.

More details on the police report:

A State Patrol report following the arrest stated Smith was driving a 2017 two-door Rolls-Royce at approximately 2 a.m. on eastbound Interstate 90 near Mercer Way when an officer observed Smith “approaching me from the rear at a high rate of speed,” assessed to be 96 mph in a 60-mph zone. The report stated, “The vehicle passed me at a high rate of speed.”

The report stated that based on Smith’s speed, lane travel, failure to recognize the emergency lights and the officer’s own observations, Smith was arrested on suspicion of DUI. The report stated Smith became further agitated as he was handcuffed and taken to the Bellevue district office of the State Patrol to be processed for DUI. He was taken to Overlake Medical Center for a blood test.

[…]

Prosecutors concluded a “reasonable doubt exists as to whether his ability to drive was affected by alcohol or marijuana.”

At the time of his arrest, Smith wrote on social media, “Being arrested brings a taint onto the reputation that is impossible to undo, no matter what really happened. I’m asking all of you to hold back on judging me the same as you would do for a friend or family member.”

Of course, the headline-grabbing quote from the police report was one of the officers alleging that Smith told him “you have little d—k syndrome.” We didn’t get a follow-up on whether Smith actually said that.

The report additionally states that while there was evidence of Smith speeding, but prosecutors couldn’t prove he “disregarded anyone’s safety or property.”