Police Release Dashboard Video of Lions President's DUI Arrest

Last Friday, Roscommon County police arrested Detroit Lions president Tom Lewand on suspicion of a DUI. Lewand has since apologized for the mistake and the team has already officially stated that it supports Lewand and that he will retain his current role with the Lions.

Nevertheless, it's yet another embarrassing episode by personnel for a franchise that's trying to break the common association that it's a bumbling laughingstock, calling to mind former defensive line coach Joe Cullen, who notoriously was caught in separate incidents within two weeks drunk driving and driving nude through a Wendy's drive-thru. Not to mention that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said that the league is reviewing the incident, vowing to hold a meeting with Lewand, where a fine or suspension could be handed down.

With that in mind, it's not going to look good that released footage from the arresting cop's dashboard shows that Lewand tried to explain to police that he hadn't had a drink in a year and a half before submitting to a breathalyzer test, the results of which led to his arrest. At one point, he even goes as far to claim he was the designated driver as the cops claim they smelled alcohol.

The video doesn't change the severity of his crime, but it makes him appear slightly more dishonest when he's been caught. As we've seen from the discipline of Ben Roethlisberger and Goodell's statements in reference to the shooting at Michael Vick's Virginia Beach club party, how an incident reflects on the reputation of the league is as strong a consideration as how shocking the incident in question actually is. That Lewand was knowingly attempting to deceive police may make things somewhat more difficult with him for the league.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.