Ex-football star Tony Romo struggled to understand officers’ instructions during a field sobriety test and refused to take a breathalyzer test, body cam footage released Tuesday by the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office shows.
Romo, who is now the NFL on CBS lead game analyst, was arrested last week and charged with his first offense of Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) — Wisconsin’s term for a DUI. He was stopped by an officer while driving on southbound Interstate 43 on a bridge and was subsequently taken to jail. He has since been released.
Bodycam footage from the arrest shows a female deputy with the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office stopping Romo for unsafe passing on the right, deviation on the road, and crossing the gore, the triangular safety zone splitting the highway and an entrance ramp.
When the deputy asked Romo where he was from, he replied, “Well, I live in Dallas, so I came to visit grandma and grandpa’s so we’re here. I played in the golf tournament of the Wisconsin Amateur Championship.”
The deputy asked Romo, “How many drinks have you had?” to which he responded, “Zero.”
The officer then asked if Romo could undergo a field sobriety test.
“I’m gonna call my lawyer and I’m gonna see if it’s offensible [sic],” Romo said.
“Okay, step out of the vehicle,” she replied.
“I’m still allowed to call my lawyer, right?” Romo asked.
“You’re not,” the deputy said.
Romo stayed in the car as he looked down at his phone.
“I’m gonna give him an additional ten seconds — he’s not stepping out of the vehicle,” the officer said into her walkie-talkie.
“I’ll do it. I’m just saying I’m not allowed to call my lawyer?” Romo interrupted as he finally stepped out of the car. The deputy stated that Romo was pending an OWI investigation.
“Because I’m coming from a golf course, you think I’m drunk?” Romo asked.
The deputy told Romo to step in front of the squad car and patted him down for weapons. She then told Romo to put his hands behind his back.
“I thought you’re taking me through [a field sobriety test],” Romo answered.
“So as of right now, we’re on a [uneven] ground, we’re on a bridge. I want to convey you somewhere that’s going to be an even surface free of debris,” she replied.
The officer cuffed Romo and put him in the back of the car. When asked if he was in the vehicle, the 6-foot-2-inch Romo replied, “I’m in, uncomfortably, yes.”
“Yeah, you’re a taller fellow,” the deputy said.
More body cam footage obtained by TMZ shows the female officer with three other deputies in a parking lot with Romo doing field sobriety tests. Romo struggled to understand the instructions on how to do nine heel-to-toe steps, at one point going on all fours to stretch out.
“Sorry guys, two back surgeries — it does hurt me,” Romo said.
He was then asked to stand on one foot for 30 seconds. After 20 seconds, he fell off balance and said, “I know that was at least eight or nine seconds.”
The deputy then asked Romo if he would be willing to go through a preliminary breath test. He responded, “Oh no, we’re not doing that. I’ve already heard from all the lawyers, ‘Don’t ever do that.’”
The officer told Romo that he had “red, glassy eyes” and an “odor of an intoxicating alcoholic beverage from your back.” She and other officers reported finding “a few shooters” in Romo’s backpack, which he denies drinking.
Romo retired from the NFL following the 2016 season after spending his entire 13-year career with the Dallas Cowboys, where he remains the franchise’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns with 248. Since joining CBS Sports in 2017, he has become one of the network’s top NFL analysts and signed a reported 10-year, $180 million contract extension in 2020.
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