SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Authorities in Cinnaminson have released video of the interaction between police officers and a Bellmawr gym owner and congressional candidate who was arrested for driving while intoxicated last month.
Ian Smith, 35, told officers on the scene that he had a double-margarita before getting behind the wheel. Video from that morning shows his pickup truck swerving in and out the lane before police stop him.
He says he believes he passed field sobriety tests after being pulled over in the parking lot of Pandora Diner on a busy stretch of Route 130.
In the video, after getting out of the truck, Smith appears to maintain a straight line as he walked during sobriety tests, one foot in front of the other.
“You know I’m a congressional candidate for this district, right?” he can be heard saying.
“I am not trying to make any trouble. You’re standing out here on a windy road. You’re submitting me to balance tests, which I did. Did I not do well at?”
Police eventually cuffed him and informed him that he was under arrest for driving while intoxicated, saying he didn’t pass the overall assessment for DUI.
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“Hold on hold on. Why are you taking me into custody?” he can be heard on video asking the cops. “You’re taking me into custody, and I didn’t fail anything."
An offer can be heard explaining that the state of New Jersey doesn’t rely solely on the observation of the arresting officers. "You’ll have a chance. When we get back to the station, we’ll explain it to you," he says.
Police took him back to the station, where he refused a Breathalyzer test, according to Cinnaminson Police Chief Rich Calabrese. On the way there, Smith asked the arresting officer if he got paid “to do this.”
Smith spent five years in prison when he was 20 for drunk driving and killing a 19-year-old.
He made a name for himself when he and co-owner Frank Trumbetti defied Gov. Phil Murphy's COVID-19 lockdown orders in spring and summer of 2020 and kept their Atilis Gym open.
His spokesman says Smith refused the Breathalyzer test because he doesn’t trust the government.
He said he believes Smith will be vindicated in court, where Smith is scheduled to appear on April 14.
In his bid for Congress, Smith first goes up against party-endorsed businessman Bob Healey Jr. in the Republican primary.