Tony Romo Failed Field Sobriety Tests & Refused Breathalyzer During OWI Arrest

What Happened

A Milwaukee County Sheriff's deputy pulled Romo over shortly after 6 PM on July 23 while he was driving southbound on I-43 near the Marquette interchange during rush hour, citing unsafe passing on the right and cutting across the "gore," the marked area between highway lanes. Romo told the deputy he was coming from the Wisconsin State Amateur golf tournament and was on his way to see his grandparents. When asked how many drinks he'd had, he said zero.

The footage shows officers noting red, glassy eyes and the odor of alcohol on his breath. When the deputy asked him to step out of the vehicle for field sobriety testing, Romo repeatedly asked to call his lawyer first. "You're not," the deputy told him. "Step out of the vehicle."

The Field Sobriety Tests

During the eye-tracking test, Romo had difficulty following instructions, moved his head when told to keep it still, and asked for clarification multiple times. During the walk-and-turn test, he told the deputy the instructions had too many steps and needed to go one at a time, and mentioned previous back surgeries that affected his ability to perform the maneuvers. Based on his performance, deputies took him into custody on suspicion of OWI.

The Breath Test Refusal

This is the part of the footage with the most legal weight. Romo refused the preliminary breathalyzer at the scene, telling the deputy, "I've already heard from all the lawyers. Don't ever do that." He was later booked at the jail and, after being read his rights under Wisconsin's implied consent law, refused the evidentiary breath test as well.

What Refusing a Breath Test Actually Means

Refusing a breathalyzer is not the same as beating a DUI charge, and it's worth explaining why. Every state, including Wisconsin, has an implied consent law: by holding a driver's license, you've already agreed to submit to chemical testing if lawfully arrested on suspicion of impaired driving. Refusing that test doesn't stop the arrest or the prosecution; it simply removes one piece of potential evidence, a specific blood alcohol number, from the case.

In exchange, a refusal triggers its own separate administrative penalty. In Wisconsin specifically, refusing an evidentiary breath test typically results in automatic license revocation, regardless of the outcome of the underlying OWI charge, and that revocation can run concurrently with or in addition to any penalty from an eventual OWI conviction. Prosecutors can also use the refusal itself as evidence of consciousness of guilt in front of a jury, and field sobriety test performance, like what's now visible in this footage, becomes correspondingly more important to the state's case when there's no breath or blood number to point to.

The Charge and What Comes Next

Romo was booked on one count of OWI, first offense, and released around 11 PM the same night. His court date is scheduled for September 21. In Wisconsin, a first-offense OWI is a civil, not criminal, violation, typically carrying a fine between $150 and $300 along with license suspension, though prosecutors can still pursue enhanced consequences depending on the specifics of the case, including the breath test refusal.

Romo withdrew from the Texas State Open golf tournament following the arrest. Reporting citing sources close to Romo indicates he notified CBS executives directly once he understood the story would become public, and that he plans to keep a lower profile in the near term while preparing for the coming NFL season. Multiple reports indicate there's no current indication CBS intends to sever ties with him, and whether the network even could would depend on the specific language of his contract regarding termination with or without cause.

Why This Case Is Worth Understanding

Beyond the celebrity angle, this case is a useful real-world illustration of two things that matter to anyone who might find themselves in a similar traffic stop: first, that asking to call a lawyer before performing field sobriety tests is not a right that applies at that stage of a stop, and second, that refusing a breathalyzer carries its own consequences and doesn't make the underlying case disappear. 

Bodycam footage, increasingly common and increasingly public, is also reshaping how these cases play out both legally and in public opinion, since performance on field sobriety tests is now something the public, and potential jurors, can watch for themselves.

For more articles like this, visit our News Page.