Krista Perez, 40-year-old Democratic candidate for Washington's 29th Legislative District, told officers she'd had one glass of wine. She then rated her own sobriety a 4 out of 10, failed three breath test attempts, and was found on Tacoma Avenue South after a chain-reaction crash that damaged five parked cars.
That was August 11. One week earlier, she'd won her primary.
The bodycam footage is the kind of tape a campaign doesn't survive. Officers noted the smell of alcohol, slurred speech, red eyes, unsteady gait, and what they described as noticeable mood swings. When told she was being placed under arrest, Perez tried a negotiation: "Not right now. I'd like to go home first."
The officer's response was immediate. "You're not going to go home first. I'm going to tell you that right now, okay?"
"And do I have a choice?" Perez asked.
She did not.
From the back of the patrol car, the footage picks up Perez sobbing and praying in Spanish: "Dios, ayúdame por favor. Ayúdame por favor." Then in English: "Help me, God. Help me. Help me. Holy Spirit, help me, God." She spent approximately six hours in custody at Pierce County Jail before being released. The charge: DUI with a refusal enhancement — meaning she ultimately declined to provide a valid breath sample after three failed attempts.
Perez isn't just a candidate. She's a strategic partnerships manager at the Washington State Department of Commerce — a state government employee running for state office. This was also not her first campaign. She previously ran a failed bid for Tacoma City Council.
Her attorney, Bryan Hershman, offered a defense that belongs in a Hall of Fame for missing the point. "We're talking about a DUI. It's not like we're talking about felony murder here." He added that "no matter what happens in this DUI case, there's still homeless people we need to get off the streets" and hoped "we can stay focused on an important campaign."
The attorney for a woman who crashed into five parked cars while rating herself less than half sober would like everyone to redirect their attention to homelessness. Noted.
Perez faces incumbent Representative Melanie Morgan in the November general election for the 29th District seat. Voters who gave Perez their trust in the primary got to see what she did with the first week of it — rated herself a 4 on a 10-point sobriety scale, plowed through a row of parked cars on Tacoma Avenue South, asked the arresting officer if she could just go home, and then prayed from the back seat of a cruiser.
