On Monday, the Sunflower Action News team uncovered an old article in the Lawrence Journal-World which reveals a dark event in Mayor Jack Griswold’s past.
During Griswold’s time on the Lawrence City Commission, he held several public forums regarding municipal ordinances surrounding traffic violations. Griswold actively supported measures to implement stricter penalties for individuals charged with offenses like reckless driving or driving under the influence. However, on July 12, 2012, during his run for City Commission, Griswold was pulled over and arrested on the charge of drunk driving. Just four short months later Griswold won a seat on the Lawrence City Commission and the story seemed to disappear.
A quick investigation into the matter shows that the charges against Griswold were dismissed in August, however, the arrest record is still public. The record dictates that Griswold was pulled over for driving without headlights on at the 800 block of Massachusetts Street late Saturday evening.
Griswold failed a field sobriety test given at the scene and reports show his blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was measured at .12. The legal limit to drive in Kansas is under .08 BAC. Griswold was arrested and transported to the Douglas County Jail where he was released on his own recognizance.
At a Municipal Court hearing a little over a month later, Griswold defended himself and was able to get all charges against him dismissed. According to the Lawrence Police Department, the charges were formally dropped due to “false reporting on paperwork”, however, they declined to give us any more details regarding the paperwork in question. The arresting officer declined to comment as well.
Griswold continued on with his City Commission campaign, with very little media attention on his arrest. He went on to win a seat in November and was then voted Mayor of Lawrence.
With the reasoning behind Griswold’s charges being dropped being so vague, it raises suspicions that the charges were dismissed due to his political clout and his connections with the Lawrence courts and police department. “The situation is certainly unusual and raises several questions,” Griswold’s public defender colleague, Adam Baker, told Sunflower Action News. The preceding Judge and prosecuting attorney on Griswold’s case were unable to be reached for comment.