Body camera footage captured Washington state Democratic House candidate Krista Perez weeping and praying in the back of a Tacoma police cruiser after officers arrested her on suspicion of driving under the influence in the early hours of August 11. The footage, obtained and published by multiple outlets, shows Perez admitting she drank wine before the incident and rating her own sobriety a 4 out of 10, with 0 being completely sober.
Perez now faces a DUI charge with a refusal enhancement, a legal escalation triggered when a suspect fails to provide a usable breath sample. She has not been convicted. But the arrest has thrown a sharp spotlight on a candidate who finished first in her primary election and still plans to challenge incumbent Democrat Melanie Morgan in November.
Shortly after midnight on August 11, Perez's 2019 Chevrolet Silverado allegedly struck a parked car on South G Street in Tacoma, setting off a chain reaction that damaged five vehicles in total, the New York Post reported. Officers responding to the scene made contact with Perez, who told the arresting officer she had been drinking before getting behind the wheel.
"I just had some wine while I was there."
That admission came early in the encounter. When the officer asked Perez to rate her own level of sobriety on a scale of 0 to 10, she answered 4, placing herself closer to "completely sober" than to fully impaired but still acknowledging she was not sober. She declined to perform field sobriety tests at the scene.
Officers transported Perez to police headquarters for a breath test. She allegedly failed to produce a usable sample after three attempts, Fox News reported. That failure led prosecutors to add a refusal enhancement to the DUI charge, a provision under Washington law that can carry stiffer penalties because it treats an inadequate or refused sample as an aggravating factor.
The most striking portion of the footage shows Perez alone in the back of the patrol car, visibly distraught. She can be heard sobbing and calling out for divine help.
"Help me, God. Help me. Help me. Holy Spirit, help me, God."
The emotional display, captured on the officer's body camera, has circulated widely since the footage became public. Perez's reaction in the cruiser stands in contrast to her composure during the initial roadside conversation with the arresting officer, where she calmly acknowledged drinking wine.
Perez has been charged, not convicted. A DUI with a refusal enhancement in Washington state is a gross misdemeanor, which can carry up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $5,000, along with mandatory minimum penalties that increase when a driver refuses or fails to complete a breath test. The refusal enhancement also triggers a longer administrative license suspension.
Authorities have not publicly confirmed whether Perez submitted to a blood draw or any alternative chemical test after the failed breath attempts. Investigators will need to determine her precise blood alcohol concentration, if that evidence exists, before the case proceeds to trial or resolution.
No public statements from Perez's campaign or legal counsel have appeared in the available reporting from the Daily Mail, the New York Post, or Fox News.
Despite the arrest and pending charges, Perez remains a candidate for the Washington state House. She finished first in her primary election and will face Morgan, the Democratic incumbent, in November. Washington state law does not prohibit a person facing a DUI charge from running for or serving in the legislature. There is no legal mechanism to remove her from the ballot based on this charge alone.
That means voters in her district will decide whether the arrest disqualifies her in their eyes, even if the law says it does not. The race is a Democrat-versus-Democrat contest, so the general election will not feature a Republican alternative.
The physical damage from the alleged crash was not trivial. Five parked vehicles on South G Street were damaged when the Silverado allegedly struck one car and triggered a chain reaction down the line. Authorities have not publicly confirmed whether any of the vehicle owners were present at the time or whether anyone sustained injuries. No reports of injuries have appeared in the coverage.
Investigators will need to establish the sequence and speed of impact to determine whether additional charges, such as reckless driving or hit-and-run, could apply. No such charges have been filed based on available reporting.
Perez's case will move through Tacoma Municipal Court or Pierce County District Court, depending on how the jurisdiction handles the filing. A refusal enhancement complicates plea negotiations because it strips away some of the leniency available in standard first-offense DUI cases. If Perez contests the charge, prosecutors will likely rely on the body camera footage, her self-reported sobriety rating, and the failed breath test as their core evidence.
The timeline for resolution is unclear. DUI cases in Washington can take months to reach trial, and the November election falls well within that window. Perez could be elected while the case is still pending.
Voters deserve candidates who follow the same laws they expect everyone else to obey. Body cameras do not care about party affiliation, and neither should accountability.
