JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A St. Augustine Beach commissioner resigned this week after a police report suggests he tried to use his political influence to get his wife out of a D.U.I, while also proceeding to verbally berate several police officers.
According to the St. Augustine Beach City Manager, St. Augustine Beach Commissioner Ernesto Torres emailed him Monday in which he resigned from his commission seat.
His wife, Nicole Torres, 47, was charged with D.U.I on Jan. 22 after police say she was driving 'erratically' on A1A Beach Boulevard.
St. Augustine Beach police pulled over the vehicle she was driving, and say, upon performing a traffic stop, noted that she appeared to have glassy eyes and slurred speech.
She was asked by police whether she had consumed any alcohol recently, and police say she responded, "I don't have to answer that." She also reportedly refused to consent to field sobriety exercises, according to a police report.
When asked to step out of the vehicle, the police report indicates Nicole Torres stumbled and almost fell. She was arrested and booked into the St. Johns County Jail.
The police report says that her husband, Ernesto Torres, was in the passenger seat during the ordeal. Police say he also appeared to show symptoms of being intoxicated.
The report alleges that he became angry when he learned his wife was being charged with D.U.I.
Police say they asked Ernesto Torres to find a sober driver for the vehicle, and he began going through his cell phone and attempted to place a call to Sheriff Hardwick of the St. Johns County Sheriff Office.
The report says he then called St. Augustine Beach Police Chief and handed the officer the phone with the chief on the line.
The report says the chief told the officer to treat it like any other DUI case.
The police report says Ernesto Torres only became more agitated and began clapping his hands, reportedly saying, "Wow. Great job guys. You guys are a joke. Do you feel good about yourselves?"
Police say he continued to make comments, saying things such as: "After all I've done for you guys. You're welcome, by the way. I always support everything for the Beach Police Department, and this is the thanks you give me..."
Max Royle, the St. Augustine Beach City Manager, says the reason Ernesto Torres gave for his resignation was to “provide more time with my family.”
The city’s webpage listing the commissioners, as of Tuesday, no longer lists Torres as a commissioner. His term would have expired in 2024.
Royle said the city commission will most likely discuss the replacement at the next commission meeting, then they will take applications, and the commission will select the next commissioner.
That commissioner will serve until the next general election, which is in 2022.
The term for the person elected will end in 2024.