Michael Floyd's OUI Arrest Video is a Bad Look

USA Today - The Scottsdale Police Department has released body-cam video of the DUI arrest of former Arizona Cardinals receiver Michael Floyd. …

Floyd is initially affable, telling the officer he is headed to pick up his nephew at the airport. He claims to have stopped for a glass of wine at the W Scottsdale Hotel. When asked if it was red or white, Floyd says he got the wine at 9 p.m.

“OK, that’s not what I asked. Red or white wine?”

“Red,” Floyd says.

“OK, how big was that wine?”

“House cab.” …

“You got four cars,” Floyd says. “You got four cop cars for one drunk.”

The arresting officer replies, “When it’s somebody who’s passed out in an intersection and we don’t know what you’re going to do when you wake up? Absolutely. In this case, it took a while to wake you up.”

As Floyd is about to enter the back of a police car, he pauses and says, “Who, who saw me sleeping somewhere?”

“That would be me, sir,” the officer says.

When the Patriots first picked up Michael Floyd off waivers I mentioned my years spent working in a courthouse and the hundreds of OUI trials I witnessed and pointed out the standard of proof on these things is 50 shades of grey areas. And I stand by ever word.

That said, there’s a term that comes up in rare numbers of these cases. I don’t remember if there’s a legalese Latin phrase for it, but I remember the English translation: “Open and shut.” This video is the kind of evidence no lawyer worth his retainer would ever put in front of a jury hoping to convince them all you had was a glass of the house cab. The D.A. shows you this and you immediately start seeing what kind of a deal they’re willing to cut. I’ve been known to have a drink or two under social pressure. But if some cops ever showed me video of me passed out at the wheel this knee walking drunk, I’d join the Mormons and swear off Demon Rum forever.

All of which begs the question: Would the Patriots have signed Floyd if this video was already out there? And the answer is absolutely. Bill Belichick isn’t out to save souls. He’s out to win another Lombardi. Michael Floyd is a 1,000-yard receiver who’s been in the Patriots offense at Notre Dame and was available for nothing. The choice was to sign him, tell him to lay off the booze and catch passes, or stick with Griff Whalen. With those options, Belichick picks up Drunky McStagger here 100 times out of 100. And as far as the P.R. hit the teams takes? Spare me. Like the rest of the would applaud Belichick for “doing the right” thing if he took a high moral stand on this one. He’s the Prince of Darkness whether he picks a habitual drunk driver off waivers or not. So he might as well err on the side of making his football team better.

But seriously, Floyd. Stay on the bright until the first Monday in February. Then start taking Uber. Because you are a terrible drunk.