SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — The congressional candidate and Bellmawr gym owner who defiantly kept his business open during the mandated pandemic lockdown has been charged with driving under the influence.
Just after midnight on Sunday, Cinnaminson Police Chief Rich Calabrese said officers pulled over 35-year-old Ian Smith in the parking lot of Pandora Diner, off a busy area of Route 130. Calabrese said Smith refused a breathalyzer test.
Smith, however, claims he was not drunk and actually passed a field sobriety test. He’s demanding police release body camera footage of their encounter with him to prove his claim.
Steve Kush, Smith’s campaign consultant, contended in a statement that Smith was not driving drunk, and he questions why he was even pulled over.
“Being charged with an offense and actually committing an offense are two entirely different things,” he said in the statement. “Bodycam footage will show Ian passed a field sobriety test.”
Related
Kush added that Smith refused to take a breathalyzer test because he doesn’t trust the government to treat him fairly.
“I immediately wondered why Ian was pulled over in the first place. The Governor obviously hates him!” said Kush.
In order for the footage to be released, police have to meet with the township solicitor to discuss whether or not to do so.
Related
Smith has six violations related to the alleged incident. After he was processed, Calabrese said Smith was released to a responsible adult, per the state’s John’s Law.
No one was injured and there were no accidents related to this incident.
Smith is among a group of Republicans running for the chance to unseat Democrat Andy Kim in New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District.
He made headlines in early 2020 when he kept Atilis Gym, which he co-owns, open despite state orders to close nonessential businesses.
Related
Smith also spent more than five years in prison for driving under the influence during a crash in 2008 that killed a teenager.