Way to go Jose Pepe Diaz Mr. District 12

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KEY WEST, Fla. -
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jose "Pepe" Diaz has been arrested on a drunken driving charge in Key West.

The Key West Police Department said Diaz was arrested Saturday night on South Roosevelt Boulevard.

A police spokeswoman said Diaz was going 74 mph in a 30 mph zone. When he was pulled over, he didn't use a kickstand for his motorcycle, causing it to fall over, she said.






Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jose "Pepe" Diaz was arrested on a DUI charge in Key West.


"Under advice of my legal counsel, I cannot discuss details at this time," Diaz said in a statement. "However, I look forward to resolving this matter. In the meantime, I will continue to serve my community and the residents of District 12 as I have done for the last 24 years, and I humbly ask for your patience during this time."

Diaz was elected to office in 2002. He spent the night at the Monroe County Detention Center and was released from jail Sunday on a $1,000 bond.

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Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz arrested on DUI in Key West





UPDATED: Miami-Dade Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz is known DiazDUIas the road safety go-to guy at the county. He has pushed for legislation that increases the penalties on hit-and-run drivers and regularly advocates for safer bike lanes for cyclists.

But on Saturday night Diaz was arrested on DUI charges in Key West. where we assume he was for the Key West Poker Run, a motorcycle event that draws thousands of bikers and raises funds for charity.

The online record says he was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs — but it doesn’t say which.

He probably should have been charged with reckless driving also.

Key West police spokeswoman Alyson Crean told Ladra that Diaz was caught driving his Harley Davidson motorcycle 74 MPH in a 30 MPH zone on a stretch of South Roosevelt Blvd. that has just been repaved and was the scene of a fatal hit-and-run last week.

“When he got off the motorcycle, he failed to put down the kick stand and he dropped the bike,” DiazMugshotCrean said. The officer conducted a road sobriety test — basically saw how he was walking and talking and if he could bring his finger to his nose — and Diaz, 55, was arrested in the 3100 block of South Roosevelt Boulevard at 7:48 p.m.

We won’t know if he declined the breathalyzer test for blood alcohol level until Monday and we can get our paws on his arrest report. He probably did if he was hammered. Politicians don’t like their blood alcohol level to be known. But that could bring him an automatic suspension of his driver’s license for one year.

Elected in 2002, he is termed out in 2018. But this might refuel a recall that some have threatened him with.

It appears that Diaz — who was raising funds for children with cancer — spent the night in jail. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office website had him listed as an inmate at the Key West jail at 1 p.m. A bond had been set for $1,000 but he may have to remain in custody until a hearing Monday.

UPDATE: He was not listed as an inmate later in the 12030817_10102429974159288_1133072317_nafternoon and WPLG Channel 10 reported that he had posted bond.

But Ladra doubts he will be sleeping in his own bed tonight either. Unless he’s hanging out at a friend’s house and goes home after 11 p.m., when the TV cameras who have been camped there all day finally leave.

Nobody answered his cell phone Sunday morning. Ladra was also unable to reach members of his staff.

Last year, Diaz traveled to Tallahassee to urge the passing of the Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act, which would impose a minimum mandatory sentence of four years for drivers who flee the scene of a fatal accident – the same as for DUI manslaughter. The law was named in honor of cyclist Aaron Cohen, who was killed in 2012 on the Rickenbacker Causeway by a hit-and-run driver who was sentenced to less than a year in jail because there was insufficient evidence to prove he was drunk.

“This bill is a matter of safety and justice,” Commissioner Diaz said in a statement after the bill was passed. “It will eliminate the incentive for drunk drivers to flee the scene of an accident to escape a breathalyzer test while their blood alcohol levels are still high in order to avoid a DUI manslaughter charge.”

He also one of the PBA’s best buds on the commission and recently sponsored a 600-bike motorcycle parade in Tropical Park to support local police.


Earlier this month, he sponsored a resolution that would explore convertint some county two-way roads into one-way streets either permanently or during peak traffic hours.

But maybe what he really wants is to have a clear road to drive home when he’s drunk — without any oncoming traffic