A search warrant filed after former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo's arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence in Milwaukee reveals he told the deputy he had "nothing to drink", then refused a breathalyzer test.
A Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office deputy pulled Romo over at the Marquette interchange in downtown Milwaukee shortly after 6 p.m. on a Thursday during rush-hour traffic after watching his vehicle abruptly cut in front of another car, TMJ4 News reported, citing the search warrant it obtained. The deputy detected a strong odor of alcohol on Romo's breath and observed his eyes were red, bloodshot, and glossy.
Romo told the deputy he had just left a golf course and was heading to meet his parents. He said he had nothing to drink. Then he immediately called his lawyer and placed his cell phone in the backseat to record the traffic stop.
The former NFL star was in Wisconsin for the Wisconsin State Amateur golf tournament, the New York Post reported. He was stopped while driving southbound on Interstate 43 on a high-rise bridge. Deputies brought him to the Milwaukee County Jail Sally Port for a standard field sobriety test, which the deputy reported Romo performed poorly on. Court records show Romo then refused to take a preliminary breathalyzer test.
He was booked and released. On the following Monday, Romo received a traffic ticket for refusing to take a test for intoxication after an arrest. He has a court date set for September 21.
Earlier that same Thursday, Romo spoke with TMJ4 News about his passion for competitive golf. Just The News noted his remarks to the station before the arrest.
"I'm competitive in both [golf and football], I'm just better at football. It's the challenge of it. It's as tough as you're gonna play," Romo told TMJ4 on Thursday.
Hours later, a deputy was pulling him over on suspicion of drunk driving. Romo, now 46, spent 13 seasons as the Cowboys' starting quarterback before moving to the broadcast booth as a CBS NFL color analyst. His arrest adds his name to a growing list of high-profile figures facing DUI-related charges in recent years.
The Milwaukee County District Attorney's office classified Romo's case as a traffic violation rather than a criminal charge, Fox News reported. Under Wisconsin law, a first OWI offense is typically a civil matter carrying a fine of $150 to $300. That distinction matters, it means Romo would not face jail time on a first offense, though the refusal to submit to chemical testing carries its own penalties.
The search warrant filed by the sheriff's office seeks a blood draw to determine Romo's blood alcohol content at the time of the arrest. Whether that draw has been conducted, and what it showed, remains unknown. CBS had no comment on the arrest, AP News reported.
TMJ4 reporter Ben Jordan requested body camera and dash camera footage from the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office. That request had not been fulfilled at the time of publication. The footage, if released, could provide a fuller picture of the traffic stop and field sobriety test, and of Romo's claim that he had nothing to drink. Dashcam footage in celebrity DUI cases has proven revealing before.
The warrant paints a clear picture of contradiction. Romo told the deputy he had consumed no alcohol. The deputy, meanwhile, documented a strong smell of alcohol on Romo's breath, red and glossy eyes, poor performance on field sobriety tests, and a refusal to blow into a breathalyzer. One of those accounts does not hold up.
Romo's decision to immediately call his lawyer and set up a recording device in the backseat suggests he understood the gravity of the stop from the moment it began. His refusal of the breathalyzer, which itself resulted in a citation, only deepens the questions surrounding his denial.
Wisconsin's relatively lenient treatment of first-offense OWI cases means Romo is unlikely to face severe legal consequences even if blood-test results confirm intoxication. A fine of a few hundred dollars is pocket change for a prominent sports figure. The reputational cost is another matter entirely.
Romo is due in court on September 21. The blood-draw results, the unreleased body camera footage, and any formal charging decision from prosecutors will determine whether this stays a minor legal footnote or becomes something larger.
The law applies the same whether you threw touchdowns for the Cowboys or drive a delivery truck. Romo's September court date will show whether Wisconsin's system treats it that way.
