Bodycam footage shows Florida federal drug prosecutor Joseph Ruddy offering police his DOJ business card during just before he’s arrested following DUI crash

Ruddy, 59, was captured handing his Justice Department business card to cops to avoid being charged in a hit-and-run on July 4th

He is accused of sideswiping an SUV whose driver had been waiting to turn at a red light, clipping a side mirror and tearing off another piece of the vehicle that lodged in the fender of Ruddy’s pickup

He kept going, but it was called in by a witness and cops getting to his home in Tampa, met Ruddy who’d urinated on himself hunched over his pickup truck, unable to stand straight 

The fed prosecutor has been charged with driving under the influence with property damage and is expected to appear in court on September 27

His blood-alcohol level tested at 0.17%, twice the legal limit and he could face up to a year in prison  

Florida prosecutor Joseph Ruddy, hands cop business card during DUI arrest outside his home in Tampa over Fourth of July. During his arrest, he was too drunk to stand up straight and had his Justice Department business card clutched in his hand

A prolific tough-on-drugs Florida prosecutor tried to offer cops his business card to avoid being arrested for driving drunk after sideswiping an SUV over the Fourth of July. 
Joseph Ruddy, 59, a federal prosecutor, was stopped by police outside his home in Tampa. In the police cam footage of his arrest, Ruddy was too drunk to stand up straight with his Justice Department business card clutched in his hand. 
When officers arrived at Ruddy’s home in the suburb of Temple Terrace, they found him hunched over his pickup, holding his keys and using the vehicle for support, the police report said. 
Officers noted that he had urinated on himself, was unable to walk without help. He failed a field sobriety test.

Prosecutor offers business card in DUI arrest in Tampa, Florida

Ruddy has been charged with driving under the influence with property damage. His blood-alcohol level tested at 0.17%, twice the legal limit. He could now face up to a year in prison. 
He is credited with designing Operation Panama Express (PANEX), a task force contributing more than 90% of U.S. Coast Guard drug interdictions at sea.  
Despite his DUI charge, Ruddy remained on the job as a federal prosecutor for two months – representing the United States in court as recently as last week, where he achieved another win for the sprawling task force he helped create two decades ago, targeting cocaine smuggling at sea. 

Joseph Ruddy, 59, a prolific federal prosecutor, has been charged with driving under the influence with property damage after he was captured handing cops his business card after a DUI on July 4th

Ruddy is accused of sideswiping an SUV whose driver had been waiting to turn at a red light, clipping a side mirror and tearing off another piece of the vehicle that lodged in the fender of Ruddy’s pickup. 
‘He never even hit brakes,’ a witness told police.
‘He just kept going and he was swerving all the way up the road. I’m like, “No, he’s going to hurt somebody.” So I just followed him until I got the tag number and just called and reported it.’ 
In bodycam footage of the arrest, Tampa police patrolman Taylor Grant is heard telling him: ‘I understand we might be having a better night.’

Fed prosecutor Joseph Ruddy was captured outside his home in Tampa, Florida, with his Justice Department business card in hand while he hunched over his pickup truck

The attorney’s blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit and could barely stand straight up. He was also found urinated on himself after hitting a vehicle and leaving the scene

Before looking at the business card clutched in Ruddy’s hand, the officer says: ‘What are you trying to hand me? You realize when they pull my body-worn camera footage and they see this, this is going to go really bad.’ 
The officer then asks him: ‘Why didn’t you stop?’
‘I didn’t realize it was that serious,’ Ruddy said in a slurred response.
‘You hit a vehicle and you ran,’ the officer said. ‘You ran because you´re drunk. You probably didn´t realize you hit the vehicle.’  
Ruddy had been representing the United States in court for two months after the hit-and-run. But he was pulled off three cases and removed from the supervisory role a day after the Associated Press asked the Justice Department about Ruddy’s case. 
He is expected to appear in court for his case on September 27.

Ruddy seen arriving at the United States Courthouse on Sept 1, remained on the job for two months after the hit-and-run, but was pulled off three cases and removed from the supervisory role a day after the Associated Press asked the Justice Dept about his DUI case.

On Wednesday, a day after the AP asked the Justice Department about Ruddy’s status, the veteran prosecutor was pulled off three pending criminal cases. 
A Justice Department spokesman would not say whether he had been suspended but said that Ruddy, while still employed, had been removed from his supervisory role at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa. The case also has been referred to the Office of Inspector General.
An inspector general’s probe would likely focus on whether Ruddy was trying to use his public office for private gain, an attempt to improperly influence the police officer to cut him slack in the arrest process.

Ruddy designed the a task force contributing more than 90% of U.S. Coast Guard drug interdictions at sea. The average sentence for smugglers picked up at sea and prosecuted in Tampa, where Ruddy worked, was longer than any other court in the country

Ruddy is known in law enforcement circles as one of the architects of Operation Panama Express, or PANEX – a task force launched in 2000 to target cocaine smuggling at sea, combining resources from the U.S. Coast Guard, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Historically, PANEX-generated intelligence contributes to more than 90% of U.S. Coast Guard drug interdictions at sea. The bulk of those cases were handled by Ruddy and his colleagues in Tampa, where PANEX is headquartered.
Ruddy enjoys a reputation among attorneys for hard work and toughness in the courtroom.
Research shows that the median sentence for smugglers picked up at sea and prosecuted in Tampa was 10 years – longer than any other court in the country and compared to seven years, six months in Miami, which handles the second-largest amount of such cases.