Mass. GOP candidate for lieutenant governor suspends campaign after arrest

The former Massachusetts lieutenant governor-hopeful who was arrested in connection with drunken driving on Saturday night appeared in New Bedford court on Monday morning.

Shawn Oliver, 42, is facing charges of operating under the influence (OUI) of alcohol in addition to motor vehicles charges of negligent operation, marked lanes violation and speeding, according to charging documents in his case.

Oliver pleaded not guilty and was ordered released on personal recognizance from New Bedford District Court on Monday morning by Judge Joseph Harrington Jr. He is scheduled to appear again on Nov. 16.

Oliver is a current New Bedford city councilor and Bristol County House of Corrections officer who was running on the ticket as a Republican candidate with Mike Minogue against current Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Gov. Maura Healey. He announced he was suspending his campaign at around 2 p.m. on Sunday, less than 24 hours after his arrest Saturday night and after Minogue had called on him to do so Sunday morning.

• Read more: The Mass. GOP’s lieutenant governor candidate suspended his campaign. Here’s what’s next

“After careful reflection, I have made the decision to suspend my campaign for Lieutenant Governor,” Oliver, who was running as a Republican in the race, said in a statement released at 2:17 p.m. on Sunday.

“This election is too important to be overshadowed by personal matters. I want to sincerely thank everyone who has supported me throughout this journey and ask that my family’s privacy be respected during this difficult time,” Oliver said.

Oliver’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.

What happened?

According to three New Bedford police reports on the incident, Oliver was driving a black Lincoln Navigator north on Dartmouth Street at around 11:30 p.m., just south of the Rockdale Avenue intersection.

A witness who spoke to officers at the scene said he was stopped in his own car behind Oliver’s Navigator at an intersection light on Dartmouth Street. When the light turned green, the witness said the Navigator did not pull forward.

After a few moments sitting at the light — and the witness reversing his own car to view that the light was green — the Navigator suddenly accelerated forward and drifted to the right, almost hitting the curb by New York Bagel at 571 Dartmouth St., the report read.

The Navigator then “abruptly” veered to the left to avoid striking the curb, the report read, and continued onward. After crossing through the Dartmouth and Rockdale intersection, the Navigator again drifted to the left and crossed over the yellow center line.

Police say Oliver struck five parked cars and was driving so fast that he flipped his Navigator upside down onto its roof.

Oliver was outside of the car and standing on the sidewalk, speaking on his cellphone when officers arrived at the scene, the report read. A bystander brought out a chair and officers told Oliver to sit down, noting that he was bleeding from an injury on the right side of his head.

Oliver repeatedly asked officers at the scene if “everyone else was OK,” though they told him he was the only person involved in the crash, the report read. Oliver also told officers he was “burning both ends of the wick,” and said he “was coming from a meeting with friends in Dartmouth.”

Oliver was unable to complete a field sobriety test due to his injuries and was brought to the hospital, where he then told officers he’d drank at least two alcoholic beverages earlier in the night at Black Bass Grill. He then had gone to a friend’s house located in Dartmouth, police said.

Oliver’s eyes were “bloodshot and glassy,” he was emanating “a moderate odor of alcoholic beverages” and he vomited at the hospital before he was placed under arrest.

“After speaking with Shawn, it was determined that he was under the influence of alcoholic beverages therefore should not have been operating a motor vehicle,” the report read.

“At this point he was advised that he was being placed under arrest and was handcuffed to the hospital bed,” the report read. Oliver refused to have his blood drawn at the hospital.

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