Jayson Werth to police officer during DUI arrest: 'I'm not sure I trust you'

Former Washington Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth was arrested for a DUI back in April, and a video of the arrest newly obtained by TMZ shows Werth airing out his opinions about the police — or at least the police officer who arrested him.

Werth, who retired from baseball in June, was in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the start of the season, trying to catch on with the Seattle Mariners. He was pulled over on April 17 for having an expired registration, and the officer suspected Werth of being drunk while they interacted during the stop.

Werth claimed that he was borrowing the car, which is why he didn’t have the registration. He handed the officer what he called a “courtesy card” that appeared to inform the officer that Werth was a Major League Baseball player. Werth followed that with “we do a lot of work with you guys.”

The officer wasn’t impressed and asked Werth to get out of the car. He asked Werth how much he’d had to drink (Werth first said hadn’t drank any alcohol, and then said he’d had a glass of wine), and then tried to give him a field sobriety test.

That’s when Werth started protesting in earnest. He said, “I’m not subjecting myself to a field sobriety test” and insisted that without a lawyer present, he couldn’t know what his rights were. The officer responded, “this is not where the lawyer comes into play,” and tried to explain that he was just trying to do his job and make sure Werth was safe to drive.

Werth still wouldn’t submit to the field sobriety test, telling the officer “I’m not sure I trust you,” and “a lot of people have gotten in a lot of trouble assuming that police officers have their best interests.” That’s when the video ended, and Werth was presumably arrested. Werth continued to resist any kind of alcohol testing, and TMZ reported that he forced the police to get a warrant to draw his blood to check his blood alcohol level.

Werth was cited for three violations at the time of his arrest — two for driving under the influence, and one for driving with an expired registration. All but one of the DUI violations were dropped as part of his plea agreement in late September. He was sentenced to a diversion program, drug and alcohol screening, $1,600 in fines and a suspended driver’s license.

– – – – – –

Liz Roscher is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter at @lizroscher.

More from Yahoo Sports:
• Did Aaron Rodgers take a shot at his own head coach?
• Terez Paylor: There are no winners in NFL star’s brutal injury scenario
• Stunning call helps Gruden get first win since 2008
• Orioles’ $161M man finishes with worst batting average