Court grants driving privilege request

Wapakoneta Interim Mayor Steve Henderson may soon be behind the wheel again after Auglaize County Municipal Court Judge Andrew Augsburger informed him Tuesday privileges will only be granted as long as he uses an interlock ignition device.

According to a court filing, this means he will have to use a breathalyzer to start the car, although related paper work has not yet been filed. Henderson declined a breathalyzer test when he was initially pulled over, resulting in his

automatic license suspension.

At 9:08 p.m. on Memorial Day, Henderson visited the police

station to discuss the fact the American flags flying at the

city building had not been raised back to full staff. Henderson had called the department earlier in the day, around

5 p.m., to ask they be raised to their full position.

Officers on duty explained to the mayor that electric department personnel aren’t usually called in to readjust flags on a holiday.

During the contact with Henderson, which occurred in the lobby of the building, officers suspected he might have

been impaired. In a report, Henderson’s eyes were described as glassy and bloodshot, and that there was a strong odor of alcohol about his person.

Lt. Shannon Place left the office area to enter the lobby to

speak with Henderson face-toface, but he had already driven away on a golf cart.

When Place located Henderson near Auglaize and Ohio streets, she initiated the a traffic stop at 9:23 p.m. After failing sobriety tests, Henderson was arrested.

On Tuesday a notice to the Wapakoneta police department and the state to preserve audio, video and photographic

evidence was filed.