SEATTLE — King County prosecutors on Thursday announced they will not file charges against Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith in connection with an arrest on suspicion of DUI in January 2022.
A statement from 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 statement said.
As such, prosecutors said they don't "believe we can prove DUI or reckless driving beyond a reasonable doubt."
Smith was arrested Jan. 10, 2022, on the morning after the Seahawks' final game of that season at Arizona.
A 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 January 2022 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 taken to the Bellevue district office of the State Patrol after being handcuffed to be processed for DUI. He was transported to Overlake Medical Center for a blood test.
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, we do not have any evidence to show exactly what effect they had on Mr. Smith, and a reasonable doubt exists as to whether his ability to drive was affected by alcohol or marijuana."
The statement further said that Smith's blood samples had been stored in a refrigerator that failed at the state crime lab and even though that didn't affect the accuracy of the results, there'd likely be litigation.
As for Smith's driving itself, the statement read, "There is evidence that he was driving fast and briefly traveling out of his lane," but they couldn't prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he disregarded anyone's safety or property. Prosecutors also said that the State Patrol referred the case in connection with suspected DUI, not anything Smith said at the time.
