DUI Investigation Involves Manatee County Commissioner: Sheriff

BRADENTON, FL — A Manatee County commissioner was involved in an April 20 traffic accident on Greyhawk Boulevard in Bradenton, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

The accident took place around 5:30 p.m. near Upper Manatee River Road, according to a heavily redacted incident sheet provided by the sheriff’s office. The offense codes included on the report are the primary offense, DUI alcohol or drugs, as well as public traffic accident.

Though the names of all parties involved and details of the accident are redacted on the report, George Kruse, an at-large commissioner, is part of the investigation, Randy Warren, the MCSO public information officer, told Patch.

Patch has reached out to Kruse for comment, but he has not responded. We will update this story with any comment he has.

“We can confirm that George Kruse was involved in the incident. Section 119.011 (3) (c) 2, F.S. excludes the name of the individual arrested from active criminal investigative exemption, hence the reason the name is redacted from the attached (report),” Warren said.

No arrests have been made as the investigation is ongoing, he added, noting, “The State Attorney’s Office has been supplied a capias request.”

The state attorney is currently reviewing evidence, Warren said.

A capias is a court order to take someone into custody after formal charged have been filed against them, according to the website for Hornsby Law Firm, based in Orlando.