Police video shows Nevada state senator asleep at wheel before DUI arrest
A Nevada state senator was found asleep inside his vehicle while it was running and stopped on an east Las Vegas street, body camera footage released by the Metropolitan Police Department Tuesday showed.
Sen. Edgar Flores, D-Las Vegas, was arrested on suspicion of DUI after he was found asleep at a traffic light on North Lamb and East Lake Mead boulevards at 4 a.m., Friday, according to police.
In the video footage, an officer, one of the first at the scene that morning, said that the man in the vehicle — who was later identified as Flores — was “passed out.” As well, the SUV was in drive and Flores had his hand on the stick shift and his foot on the brake.
“Subject is passed out in the vehicle,” the officer said. “The vehicle is in drive. He has his foot on the brake.”
The officer attempted to open the driver’s side door, though it was locked, the video shows. He then knocked on the window to get the driver’s attention, though Flores was slumped over and was clearly asleep.
When Flores awoke, the video showed, Flores could be seen smiling at the officer, who instructed him to put the vehicle in park.
After getting out of the SUV, Flores said he had been at Sunset Park playing soccer before attempting to drive home. He admitted to drinking before driving.
At one point during the 40-plus-minute video, one officer said to another, “I don’t know if you heard, but he’s a Nevada state senator, so let’s make sure to run him through all the tests.”
Flores said after the arrest that he was not impaired.
Through a statement, Flores’ campaign said that he was stopped Friday “after a long day of work, community events, evening exercise and a late dinner.”
Flores was released the same day as his arrest. A status check on the filing of a criminal complaint is scheduled for Jan. 12, according to court records.
The longtime state lawmaker was first elected to the Nevada Senate in November 2022, and he previously served in the Nevada Assembly between 2015 and 2021.
Flores is an immigration attorney and attended UNLV’s William S. Boyd School of Law.
Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.