Washington state Democrat Krista Perez, who is currently running for a state House seat, was captured on video admitting to drinking wine, rejecting a field sobriety test, and then begging to go home before finally turning to prayer and sobbing in the back of a patrol car after being arrested for driving while under the influence.
Perez finished in first place in the August 2026 primary race for the 29th Legislative District, Position 1, and will now go head-to-head with current incumbent state Rep. Melanie Morgan, who is also a Democrat, in the November election. Tacoma Police stated that Perez’s 2019 Chevrolet Silverado allegedly hit a parked car located on South G Street just after midnight on August 11.
The collision then set off a chain reaction that resulted in a total of five damaged vehicles. Prosecutors quickly charged Perez with DUI and a refusal enhancement in connection with the collision and a later encounter with law enforcement. Body camera footage of the incident shows police officers questioning Perez following the crash and her subsequent arrest.
According to Fox News, footage captured of the backseat of the patrol car shows her completely unraveling, praying and sobbing. After police showed up at the scene of the accident, Perez told officers that she didn’t understand what was happening and claimed she was not involved in an accident. “Did you get into an accident here?” one officer asked her.
Perez replied, “I did not.” The officer asked what happened. “I don’t know. I’ve never been in an accident before,” she answered. The Washington Democrat then told police that she switched insurers just a few weeks prior to the accident when she was asked for her documents. Perez was unable to tell the officer the name of her insurance company.
“Did you have anything to drink tonight?” the officer asked Perez. “I just had some wine while I was there,” she responded. When asked how much wine she had, Perez said it was only one glass. He then asked her how big the glass was, to which she replied, “I think you might need to contact the business.” The officer asked her to rate her sobriety on a scale of zero to 10, with zero being completely sober.
Before responding to that question, she told the officer she wanted to go home. When asked the question again, she rated herself a four. The officer asked her to take a standardized sobriety test, informing her several times the tests were optional. “So it’s a series of tests that I take you through to make sure to see if you’re impaired by alcohol, or you’re not,” the officer said.
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“Are you okay with doing that? It’s totally voluntary,” he said. Perez declined to take the tests and repeated her desire to go home, saying she was “confused.” She replied, “Not right now. I’d like to go home first.” The officer then said, “You’re not going to go home first. I’m going to tell you that right now, okay? So your options between the test, yes or no, that’s going to be determined tonight, right now, not when you go home. So would you like to take these tests or no?” the officer responded.
Perez asked if she could decline the tests. “You do have a choice. You can either say yes, or you can say no. They’re totally voluntary tests,” the officer answered. “Yeah, I would like to go home first,” she said again. For the sake of clarification, the officer asked if she was declining the tests, to which she said yes. The officer then told her she was under arrest for DUI and to place her hands behind her back.
Once placed in the back of the patrol car, Perez could be heard saying, “Help me, God. Help me. Help me. Holy Spirit, help me, God.” According to state law, a DUI does not prohibit a person from serving in the legislature. Several other Democratic lawmakers have been allowed to keep their seats following an alcohol-related incident.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video