A man ran from an idling SUV and struggled with an officer who tried to stop him, according to charges. Duluth police responded shortly before 11 p.m. Sept. 18 after a caller reported loud music and a man drinking in a parked vehicle.
Chaz Tenacious Morden, 32, of Duluth, is charged with felony DWI and felony refusal to submit to a breath test. He also faces gross misdemeanor driving after cancellation and misdemeanor counts of consuming alcohol in a vehicle, fleeing on foot and obstructing legal process.
The caller said the SUV had been parked with music playing for about half an hour. The driver had initially blocked a driveway before moving forward along the curb, according to the complaint.
An officer approached and found Morden in the driver’s seat with the engine running. The officer saw an open can of White Claw and reported an odor of alcohol, slurred speech and bloodshot, watery eyes.
When asked for his license, Morden got out and soon began running. He stumbled during the foot pursuit and pushed and pulled away when the officer caught up, despite commands to stop, the complaint says.
The officer brought Morden to the ground in Eighth Street and handcuffed him. Morden declined field sobriety tests. Police arrested him on suspicion of being in physical control of a vehicle while impaired and learned his driving privileges had been canceled as inimical to public safety.
At the Public Safety Building, an officer read the breath-test advisory and Morden asked to consult an attorney. He made several calls without reaching the person he was calling. When asked whether he needed more time for legal calls, he said he did not, according to the complaint.
Morden then refused a breath test, saying it would not make a difference. Prosecutors cite three prior DWI convictions within the preceding 10 years, two in Saint Louis County and one in Denver.
