The Providence Journal (and everyone else) is reporting that Rep. Bob Watson was arrested again for possession of marijuana early Sunday morning.
When the police arrived, they saw a white Volvo sedan in the lot, with its rubber tire missing from the rim on the front driver’s side. The driver’s side door was open and a man who identified himself as Robert Watson was standing beside it, according to the police. There were no passengers in the car.
“The officers observed what appeared to be a pipe commonly used to smoke marijuana on the driver’s side floor of the Volvo,” Buckley said. “The officers also discovered a clear sandwich bag containing a green, leafy substance believed to be marijuana in the area of the driver’s seat.”
This is after his April, 2011 arrest in Connecticut for DUI and possession of marijuana when stopped at a sobriety checkpoint.
Police stopped Watson, a Republican state representative from the wealthy town of East Greenwich, Rhode Island at a police checkpoint in East Haven on Friday and there was a “strong odor of marijuana” coming from Watson’s car, East Haven Sgt. Gary DePalma said.
Which was after a comment made that offended the Guatemalan community (anyone who has ever watched Watson perform at his best on the House floor knows that this is pretty typical for him).
“I guess that if you are a Guatemalan gay man who likes to gamble and smoke marijuana, you probably think we are onto some good ideas here.”
Shortly after his April arrest, Rep. Watson was ousted as Minority Leader in the House on a vote of 6 to 2.
Considering this new arrest, his denial of the April charges and his statement regarding that arrest seem, ummm, less than authentic.
I honestly don’t really care whether or not Rep. Watson smokes pot. And I give him credit for being a sponsor on the 2005 medical marijuana legislation. I do care, however, that he was driving erratically, under the influence, and could have hurt or killed someone. That isn’t cool at all.
But with this new arrest, my guess is that his days in the General Assembly are numbered. While I’m not privy to any information regarding a Republican primary challenger (oddly, Republican Party insiders don’t like talking to me), there is at least one Democrat who formally kicked off his campaign in November, Dr. Mark Schwager.
Schwager served on the East Greenwich Town Council for two terms, from 2006 to 2010. He ran for former Sen. Michael Lenihan’s seat in the Nov. 2010 election, but lost in that contest to North Kingstown’s Dawson Hodgson.
In the 2010 election, Schwager lost to Hodgson by 928 votes (of a total of 11,084 cast).
| Candidate | Total votes | Pct |
| Dawson Tucker HODGSON (REP) | 6006 | 54.20% |
| Mark SCHWAGER (DEM) | 5078 | 45.80% |
Dr. Mark Schwager is well-known in East Greenwich politics. In addition to the two terms he served on the East Greenwich Town Council and was recently appointed as the town’s Fire District Commissioner, by a unanimous vote. Speaking about his campaign against Watson, he said:
“I just think it’s a better race for me,” he said. “I’m very involved in East Greenwich, in municipal politics and government and community service. I know the area really well, the issues really well. My kids have been through the school system. I have my medical practice here. I was on the Council here. So I’m just very focused on this community.”
Time will tell.
As for money, Bob Watson had $5,167.25 as of September 30, and Mark Schwager had $12,395.75 as of September 30. The last quarter 2011 reports aren’t due until the 31st, and it will be interesting to see if Rep. Watson catches up.
And how is this for irony…
…released [Watson] at 4:20 a.m. Sunday morning.
4:20… now that’s funny.
I’d love to land on this ass-hat with both Doc Martens, but honestly, it seems sad. Tire gone from rim entirely?!? That’s getting into delusional space. When you get a flat, you stop the car. Was he trying to limp home on a flat? That’s seriously nuts.
It appears so.
Two empty bottles of beer and an open can? He was sloppy, sloppy drunk. Who knows where he was coming from? No field sobriety test? No breathalyzer test? Was he stinking drunk? I hope he’s in re-hab for his drinking problem. I think he has one and I also think it has been exacerbated since his life went downhill. No one knows what other substance problems he might have. Cocaine was found in the lab tests that were done on him in Connecticut, wasn’t it. What about prescription drugs to take the edge off at night in order to sleep? The pot factor is a red herring. Regardless of whatever this guy deserves because of where he stands politically and whatever retribution he deserves for his hypocrisy, trying to score points on the “marijuana bust” sensationalism is resorting to means which the ends still don’t justify.
“trying to score points on the “marijuana bust” sensationalism is resorting to means which the ends still don’t justify.”
What does that mean? Who is trying to score points?
I was wondering the same thing.
The headlines in a number of newspaper articles referred to Watson’s arrest as a “marijuana bust”. Are the South Kingston police charging him with DUI? The second newspaper account by the Providence Journal where he is cursing, repeating “whatever” over and over again, telling them “you’ve got your man”, “do you know who I am?” . . . clearly sounds like someone smashed out of their minds – on booze – but it’s the marijuana that gets all the attention. Again, why no alcohol testing or field sobriety tests? Marijuana just does not affect inhibition and motor skills the way alcohol does. It just doesn’t. I know. It makes me a heretic to say so.
I believe the issue was that because the South Kingston police did not conduct a field sobriety test, they cannot charge him with DUI. Poor judgment (maybe something else?) on their part.
Yeah, for the record, no one I know of in the medical marijuana community out here in Oregon (where it is quite legal) supports the notion that you should have the right to smoke and drive.
DUI is DUI, be it alcohol, pot, or cocaine.
Mr. Watson very obviously has made some severe judgement errors, and needs help. That said, he should probably be in prison if he is indeed found guilty of endangering others’ lives. I can’t imagine his district could find a reason to keep him around.
The question is, does he already have a challenger?
*No comment*
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Let’s be careful about making any false assumptions here.
First, it’s completely unfair to the Providence Journal to insinuate that they “report” or practice journalism when in fact they are a poor excuse for a stenographer. Don’t hold your breath if you enjoy grammar and complete sentence structure.
We still don’t know what happened here for sure and until we get Bob Watson’s story, we only have a small sliver of information.
Most likely, the SK police improperly handled the situation which is why the DUI matter is so unclear. That is not a surprise to anyone who has seen SKPD in action.
I drove on this exact road in the same location just an hour before the incident and I can relate that it was very dangerous, even with four wheel drive engaged. The road was not plowed, it was uneven and this particular stretch of road has very poor lighting–almost none. That’s not a defense of Bob Watson, but it’s an accurate description of very poor road conditions.
We also don’t know what happened to Rep. Watson.
Was he kicked in the head?
Did someone chase him down and take all of his money?
Was there tampering of evidence?
We don’t know if there was a drug deal going down that might cause embarassment to others.
And where is the videotape of this incident? curiously missing….
“but it’s the marijuana that gets all the attention.”
Is this a story about marijuana v. alcohol? I think not. While I know nothing about the South Kingstown PD’s ability to identify and arrest drunk drivers, I do know that unless they see a violation for probable cause it is far more difficult to develop enough for an arrest. In those instances, unless I was knew all the facts, I wouldn’t suggest that they did not do their job especially considering they didn’t just give him a ride home.
I happen to agree with forsanri that Watson should have the opportunity to present his side of the story no matter how bad things look for him.
also:
“Is this a story about marijuana v. alcohol? I think not.”
Well, this is a little more complicated a subject. One of the big reasons police are against decriminalization, never mind legalization, is that marijuana possession is so often available as a reason to bring someone into custody and obtain a conviction when there is not enough evidence or probable cause to arrest and convict on charges of genuinely serious crimes. I don’t have enough time to go into what is wrong with this but one shouldn’t have to ponder the situation very long to realize there are many implications involved with such an approach to law enforcement.
from the N Y Times yesterday:
www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/us/a-ballot-push-to-legalize-marijuana-with-alcohol-as-the-role-model.html?_r=1
“DENVER — Proponents of marijuana have argued for years that the drug is safer than alcohol, both to individuals and society. But a ballot proposal to legalize possession of marijuana in small amounts in Colorado, likely to be on the November ballot, is putting the two intoxicants back into the same sentence, urging voters to “regulate marijuana like alcohol,” as the ballot proposition’s title puts it.”
Marijuana traces will show up in someone’s body fluids even if they haven’t indulged on a particular day if there is suspicion of driving under the influence.
I know Watson had the pipe and the bag strewn over the front seat of his car and was caught red handed. I don’t think he is an idiot, though. What would have made him throw all caution to the wind like that? Marijuana? I thought it made people paranoid?
If Watson was impaired, and I agree that it is probably unlikely he was not, it is unfortunate the police, who are obligated to enforce laws whether good or bad, did not have enough evidence to convict him on the DUI charge. Given the nature of marijuana and the way it is detectable in the human body days after using it and given the fact we have a medical marijuana law here, I see a lot of problems with easy acceptance of someone being convicted of possessing something that shouldn’t even be illegal and making it the focus when the most serious question is impairment, innocence and guilt and having the burden of proof placed where it belongs which is supposed to sit squarely on the shoulders of those who are given the responsibility of enforcing the laws.
Ultimately, its about people admitting to who they really are. Did he not claim to be a medical user of marijuana after the Connecticut arrest- and claimed that he did not trust the confidentiality of the Rhode Island Medical Marijuana patient list?
THere is a lot of discrimination against people who have made even the smallest legal mistakes in the past. Take the fired RIPTA drivers for example: two guys who were busting their asses to get jobs, and went through a training program as well. But then we have people with current brushes with the law. What level of scorn is appropriate?
Many people, including myself, feel the proper response to substance abuse problems is a medical intervention (which could include a hospitalization or treatment facility)- and not prison or unemployment. Watson has a law degree. He knows the score. Hopefully the RI political sphere remembers that whatever is good enough for Bob Watson is good enough for the rest of Rhode Island- especially those with less education, experience, and trust that Watson has earned.
I hope someone does not miss an opportunity to remind the Attorney General of this when they come to testify against marijuana regulation.