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The U.S. government dropped drunk driving and reckless driving charges against Bruce Springsteen on Wednesday stemming from an incident in November, admitting that the rocker’s blood-alcohol level was so low that it didn’t warrant the charges.
Springsteen pleaded guilty to a third charge, consuming alcohol in a closed area, Gateway National Recreation Area. Better known as Sandy Hook, it is an Atlantic Ocean peninsula in New Jersey with views of the New York City skyline.
Facing a judge and more than 100 onlookers in a video conference, Springsteen sat next to lawyer Mitchell Ansell and admitted he was aware it was illegal to consume alcohol at the park.
“I had two small shots of tequila,” Springsteen said in response to questions from an assistant U.S. attorney. The case was heard in federal court because the park is considered federal land.
U.S. Magistrate Anthony Mautone fined Springsteen $500 US for the offence, plus $40 in court fees.
“I think I can pay that immediately, your honour,” Springsteen told Mautone.
Two tequila shots
In an emailed statement, Ansell wrote that Springsteen “is pleased with the outcome” of the court hearing.
According to a probable cause document written by park police at the time of the incident, Springsteen told a park officer he had done two shots in the previous 20 minutes but wouldn’t take a preliminary breath test before he was arrested. Mautone said Wednesday that the preliminary test is not required, and is not admissible in court.
When he took a breath test at the park’s ranger station, Springsteen’s blood-alcohol level came back 0.02 per cent, a quarter of the legal limit in New Jersey, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The officer wrote that he saw Springsteen take a shot of tequila and then get on his motorcycle. The officer wrote that the rocker “smelt strongly of alcohol” Nov. 14 and “had glassy eyes” and that there was a bottle of Patron tequila that was “completely empty.”
The report described Springsteen as “visibly swaying back and forth” during a field sobriety test and said he declined to provide a sample on an initial breath test.
Super Bowl ad back in rotation
After news of the arrest, Jeep put on pause an ad that ran during the Super Bowl featuring Springsteen in Kansas urging people to find common ground.
Jeep said in a statement Wednesday it was going ahead with the ad now “that the matter has been resolved.”
“As we stated previously, we paused the commercial until the facts were established,” Jeep said.
Springsteen performed Jan. 20 as part of President Joe Biden’s inauguration, singing Land of Hope and Dreams in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
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