A Rhode Island state representative’s late-night traffic stop has turned into a political spectacle after bodycam footage revealed him stumbling over his words, fumbling with his ID, and reeking of alcohol—despite his insistence that he hadn’t been drinking.
Rep. Enrique Sanchez (D), a progressive lawmaker first elected in 2022, was pulled over in the early hours of February 3 after parking his car in the middle of an intersection in Cranston. Officers immediately noticed something was off when Sanchez failed to move even after the traffic light turned green. When approached, he handed police a red debit card instead of his driver’s license—one of many signs that he wasn’t exactly in peak condition.
“You reek of booze,” an officer bluntly told Sanchez in the bodycam footage. “Just be honest.”
Sanchez, clearly confused, insisted he hadn’t been drinking, though officers noted his bloodshot eyes and the strong smell of alcohol on his breath. He admitted to taking Adderall for ADHD, later claiming at the police station that it “impacts his mental health and his driving.”
Cranston police release bodycam video of state Rep. Enrique Sanchez’s arrest on a DUI charge.https://t.co/nVUYspYW0J pic.twitter.com/r8znLTykN3
— NBC 10 WJAR (@NBC10) February 3, 2025
His story only got stranger from there. Sanchez claimed he was “trying to hop on the highway” to head home to Providence from a friend’s house in Central Falls—a route that didn’t remotely match where he was pulled over, as the officer pointed out. He also repeatedly put his hands in his pockets despite police ordering him to keep them visible, a basic safety protocol during traffic stops.
When asked to take a field sobriety test, Sanchez instead tried to bargain his way out of the situation: “If I request to do so, can I order an Uber?” The officer shut that down immediately: “You can say ‘no’ to the test, but you’re not going to order an Uber.” Sanchez refused the test and was arrested, spending the night in jail.
Despite all this, Sanchez pleaded not guilty to driving while intoxicated. His case was later downgraded to civil charges for refusing a chemical test and failing to obey traffic signals. A judge suspended his license but granted him a “hardship license” to drive between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. for work—on the condition that he install a breathalyzer in his car.
Calls for Sanchez’s resignation followed, but he remained silent for a week. When he finally addressed the incident on February 10, his statement on X was notable for what it didn’t include: an apology or an admission of wrongdoing. Instead, he framed himself as a dedicated public servant, pledging to “continue to serve as a voice for the people of this state” and refusing to let his “personal actions become a distraction.”
