Former Redskin Fred Smoot Arrested for DUI

Former Washington Redskins defensive back
Fred Smoot was arrested on December 30 and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol
or a drug and operating while impaired, according to documents filed with DC Superior
Court.

Smoot pleaded not guilty to the charges. His attorney,
Brian K. McDaniel, did not return phone calls requesting comment.

A Metropolitan Police officer arrested Smoot—who played seven seasons at corner back
for the Redskins between 2001 and 2009—at around 3:30 AM on December 30 near the 100
block of Massachusetts Avenue, Northeast, US Capitol Police officer
Seth Carll said in an affidavit.

The officer pulled Smoot over after he saw Smoot driving an Audi A7 with no tags,
Carll said in the affidavit. According to Carll, Smoot did not have his registration
tags inside the car and said his temporary tags had gotten snow on them and were wet.

During the traffic stop, the officer smelled “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage
emitting from [Smoot’s] breath and person,” Carll said in the affidavit. “[Smoot’s] eyes were red and watery.”

Smoot also appeared angry, Carll said in the affidavit. When asked why, Smoot said
“he got into it with his girl at the club,” according to the affidavit.

Smoot told the Capitol Police officer that he’d had one drink, according to the affidavit,
and agreed to a field sobriety test. During a series of tests, Smoot demonstrated
“many clues of impairment,” including swaying noticeably, Carll said in the affidavit.

Smoot was subsequently arrested and taken to the Capitol Police headquarters at 119
D Street, Northeast, for processing, where he twice refused to take a breathalyzer
test.

“During processing, in the service area, while handcuffed, the [defendant] peed his
pants creating a puddle on the floor,” Carll said in the affidavit. “[A police officer] witnessed the urine running down his pant leg and onto the floor. [Smoot] did not
express that he had to use the restroom.”

He was cited and released by the Capitol Police. The DC attorney general formally
charged Smoot with driving under the influence of alcohol or a drug and operating
while impaired on January 10. Smoot pleaded not guilty on January 17. He was released
on his own recognizance.

The court ordered Smoot not to drive in DC without a valid permit or after consuming
alcohol.

A status hearing on the case is scheduled February 19.

Update January 25, 5 PM: Smoot’s lawyer contacted The Washingtonian with a statement. Read the full story.  

Luke Mullins

Senior Writer

Luke Mullins is a senior writer at Washingtonian magazine focusing on the people and institutions that control the city’s levers of power. He has written about the Koch Brothers’ attempt to take over The Cato Institute, David Gregory’s ouster as moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press, the collapse of Washington’s Metro system, and the conflict that split apart the founders of Politico.