A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit claiming a 72-year-old man’s alcoholism is a disability that should disqualify him from being cited with drunken driving by Milford police.
Using the word “frivolous” six times in his ruling, U.S. District Chief Judge Colm F. Connolly dismissed a lawsuit filed by Scott Walker, a longtime political candidate who’s well-known for his homemade political signs along Delaware roadways.
Walker, who could not be reached for comment, claimed Milford police should have heeded his request — because of his disability — to be left alone in order to sober up after being found semi-nude and sleeping behind the wheel of his running car in a fast food restaurant drive-thru. This, he argued, was a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“Plaintiff fails to state any federal claims,” Connolly wrote in his opinion, which was signed last month. “First, his ADA and Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause claims that alcoholics are subjected to impermissible discrimination by the enforcement of laws prohibiting driving while under the influence of alcohol are frivolous on their face.”
Walker’s other ADA claims, including retaliation by police and others, “are similarly frivolous,” Connolly said.
Walker, who said he was running for governor as an independent when last contacted by DelawareOnline/The News Journal in February, said he is opposed to impaired drivers on the road. But he believes if they are parked and sleeping their impairment off, they should be able to do that.
More:Was a Delaware man discriminated against for alcoholism when police charged him with DUI?
This dismissal ends a five-month attempt to sue multiple defendants — from Milford police to a Justice of the Peace magistrate to Brandywine Counseling and Community Services Corp. to the state of Delaware — with claims that not only was he discriminated against but that other laws were broken during his arrest in May 2021.
Walker charged
According to court documents, Milford officers were dispatched to a Burger King, located at 943 N. DuPont Highway in Milford — in the general area of the Walmart Supercenter. Officers were responding to a report of a person being passed out behind the wheel of a car while in the restaurant’s drive-thru at about 8:50 p.m. on May 12, 2021.
The person’s car ended up getting stuck on the drive-thru’s curb, according to the court document. The person, who was later identified by police as Walker, “was naked inside the vehicle and EMS assisted him with putting pants on,” according to the document.
Walker, who has pleaded guilty to the DUI, denies being fully naked but told Delaware Online/The News Journal he was not wearing pants.
Police also said they found a partially empty bottle of Barefoot Pink Moscato wine inside the car’s center console, along with a plastic cup on the passenger seat. The cup contained a small amount of wine, according to court documents.
As emergency medical workers aided Walker, police said Walker told them he did not want to be touched and did not want his vitals taken. Walker was yelling at medical workers, and according to police, he “was uneasy on his feet” and was using his “vehicle to hold himself up.”
Walker then told a Milford officer he would not be arrested for DUI and that he would not be doing any tests.
He was arrested after refusing to take any tests, and according to court records, told the officer he was going to “rape” the officer.
After receiving a warrant to take his blood, the court document said Walker was taken to Bayhealth Sussex Campus to have his blood drawn.
“[Walker] kept stating he was not going to get stuck with a needle and that he did not want to see it or have the warrant read to him because this was an unlawful arrest,” according to the court document.
Although police said Walker was combative, two vials of blood were taken from him. He was then taken to the Milford Police Department where he was placed in a holding area for men.
More:Fines mount for Scott Walker’s improperly placed campaign signs, but he’s not stopping
Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.
