SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) released 20 minutes of dash cam and body camera video showing City Council member Marc Whyte being pulled over, administered a field sobriety test and then taken into custody after allegedly driving while intoxicated on the morning of Dec. 29.
The video – a sharp contrast to when officers confronted former District 10 representative Clayton Perry ahead of his own DWI arrest in 2022 – provides a firsthand glimpse at the events which resulted in Whyte being suspended from his committee assignments on Thursday. He can still appear, speak and vote in regular City Council meetings. Leaders will meet Sunday to discuss a potential censure.
Whyte is not seen taking a breathalyzer test. According to police records, he refused to submit a breathalyzer or blood test before authorities submitted a warrant.
In the video, a patrol unit can be seen nearing Whyte's car along Loop 410 on the north side before flipping on its sirens. Police continue to follow for a time as Whyte exits the highway, eventually turning into a parking lot and stopping nearly two minutes later. At this point, it's 11:09 p.m.
While approaching the vehicle, the officer asks Whyte to raise his hands, which he visibly does. He's informed that he was going 80 mph in a 65 mph zone, and that at multiple times he allegedly changes lanes without using his signal.
"I'm sorry," Whyte responds before saying he was heading home from being with "another council member and a couple of friends." A police report indicates he said he drank three beers within a couple hours.
The officer then asks Whyte to exit the vehicle, which he does. He's then asked to follow the officer's flashlight and to walk in a straight line for nine steps before returning. He appears able to do so, but appears confused when the officer asks if he's done.
"You told me to do nine, then turn, then three..." Whyte can be heard saying.
"Yeah, I gave you instructions. I'm asking are you completed with what I instructed you to do?" the officer responds.
"Well, I don't remember. You said nine and then you take a series of three, and then you turn," Whyte says.
"No, I took three for demonstrational purposes, and you were going to take nine," the officer says.
"Right, but I did nine up and nine back," Whyte says.
The council member is then asked to stand and lift a leg six inches above the ground while counting out loud. He appears able to do so for over 20 seconds, despite momentarily losing his balance.
The officer then asks Whyte what his highest level of education is.
"I'm a law school graduate," he responds.
Whyte is then asked to recite part of the alphabet from C to S, which the councilman does, before the officer asks him to count down from 67 to 42. Whyte goes on to do so.
The officer then asks Whyte to rate how sober he is "on a scale of one to 10."
"Sir, I am sober," Whyte says. "And my exit is two up, by 410 and Starcrest."
"You feel like you're sober?" the officer asks.
"Yes sir, a thousand percent," Whyte responds.
The officer says he can "smell a little bit on your breath," to which Whyte says he could walk home.
"I am 100% OK," Whyte goes on to say. "However you want to handle this is OK with me, but I wanna leave."
The officer retreats to converse with another officer in the parking lot, and can be heard saying, "his walk-and-turn was terrible, he didn't remember the instructions."
"Hey, you do what you want, bro," the other officer is heard saying. "I'm here to help you out."
The officer approaches Whyte again to check his eyes, asking him a second time to follow his light. That lasts nearly two minutes, after which he asks Whyte again where he was earlier in the night and how much he drank.
"I probably had a drink in each place," he says. "Three drinks from 5 (p.m.) to whatever it is now."
The following 22 seconds of audio is redacted by SAPD in the bodycam video, after which Whyte is asked when he last slept.
"So, I just flew back from Australia today," he says. "I was on a 15-and-a-half hour flight. But, honest to God, I'm OK. I feel fine, I don't feel tired. I probably need to sleep, because I only slept for four or five hours on the plane."
The officer then says that, based on their conversation and the sobriety test administered, "I think you've had a little bit too much to drink tonight."
The footage ends with Whyte starting to be placed under arrested for alleged DWI at 11:26 p.m.
Whyte was booked on a $2,000 bond and released after posting bail a day later.
Nirenberg's memo to city leaders said Whyte's committee suspension will remain in effect "until further notice or until more details of the incident are known."
“The memo came out this morning but the mayor and I had a conversation yesterday about how we were going to proceed,” Whyte said. “He notified me that he was going to suspend me from committees and we would have a full council discussion.”
That suspicion was effective as of Thursday and Whyte said he didn’t know how long it will last.
The council will vote on a resolution to censure Whyte on Sunday. Both the Mayors office and a city spokesperson told KENS 5 a “censure” simply a formal and public condemnation of a member’s inappropriate conduct, and does not carry additional consequences.
Whyte apologized again on Thursday, but said he was ready to put the incident behind him.”
“I’ve said from the beginning that I own my actions and take full responsibility for what happened,” Whyte said. “There is important business to do here for the city. So to the extent that we can deal with this and move on, that's what we need to do."
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