UPDATE: Decatur Mayor Pro Tem Arrested for DUI

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Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office

Decatur’s second-most senior city commissioner and the city’s mayor pro tempore spent time behind bars last week after she was arrested and charged for drunk driving.

DeKalb County jail records indicate that Kecia Cunningham was arrested on June 11 and charged with DUI and failure to maintain her lane. She was released from custody after paying a $2,100 bond.

A Decatur police report states that an officer noticed Cunningham’s 2002 Lexus SC430 make an improper right turn off of Sams Crossing and onto East College Avenue at approximately 12:18 a.m. The officer followed Cunningham and observed the vehicle drifting heavily within its lane and eventually crossing the double yellow line in the center lane of travel.

Once the officer turned on his lights, Cunningham refused to stop immediately but instead pulled into the rear parking lot of Trackside Tavern. The officer noticed Cunningham had a distinct odor of alcohol and was not wearing shoes at the time she was pulled over, the report states. She told the officer that she had come from the Cigar City Club and had consumed at least one glass of wine and one cranberry and vodka mixed drink.

The report indicates that Cunningham failed several field sobriety tests and agreed to be taken to the DeKalb County jail for a breathalyzer test. Cunningham’s blood-alcohol content was registered as .147 at the jail, according to the report.

The officer who arrested Cunningham later discovered a wine cork and bottle opener in her Lexus, the report says.

Cunningham has served as a city commissioner since 1999 and was named mayor pro tem in 2013, according to her official biography on the city’s website. Cunningham has spent time on the boards of the Decatur Downtown Development Authority and the DeKalb Rape Crisis Center.