LB Tatupu Arrested for Driving while Intoxicated

Hawks LB Lofa Tatupu finds himself in trouble today, as it has come out that he was pulled over about 2:30am Saturday morning and arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.  The Seattle Times is reporting that an officer spotted Tatupu’s car doing 50 in a 35 zone, and after he was pulled over he submitted to field-sobriety tests, but declined to take a portable Breathalyzer.

After being handcuffed and taken to the police station, reports say he was cooperative throughout the process. Tatupu’s blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) was measured at 0.155 and 0.158, nearly double the legal limit of 0.08. That measurement was taken about two hours after Tatupu was observed driving the car.

He put out a statement today about the incident.  “I want to apologize to my family, teammates, the Seahawks ownership and organization, and the fans for making a poor decision and putting myself in a bad situation. I take seriously my role as a leader on this team, and in the community, and because of that I’m disappointed and embarrassed by the level of poor judgment I used last weekend. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. This will never happen again, and I hope through hard work on and off the field to begin earning your respect and trust again.”

The 25-year-old has been with the Hawks for three seasons, and signed a new deal in March for $42 mil though the 2015 season. He was in practice last week as part of a mandatory minicamp.  No word on if the league will suspend him or take other action against him for the incident.