Prosecutors at the Skokie courthouse on Friday dismissed driving under the influence charges against WMAQ-Ch. 5 sportscaster and former Chicago Bear, Mike Adamle, saying that Adamle was well under the legal limit when Evanston police curbed his car during a traffic stop in January.
“I’m extremely grateful I’m done here,” Adamle said outside the courtroom after the charges were dropped.
Adamle was arrested in Evanston in January after allegedly disobeying a red-flashing traffic signal, according to police. He was taken to the police station, where he exhibited some erratic behavior, police said.
“I couldn’t have been more cooperative,” Adamle said Friday. “I did everything they asked me and then some.”
Adamle’s took a breathalyzer test and his blood alcohol level was 0.04 percent, about half the legal limit, police said. During a brief hearing on Friday, Cook County Assistant States Attorney, Akash Vyas, said prosecutors were dropping charges because Adamle was well under the legal limit.
Adamle said that his arrest and subsequent charges cost him several speaking engagements and that he cannot understand why he was charged with a DUI when he was under the legal limit.
“What they did was really incorrect,” he said.
He also said that he was determined to clear his name because an online profile of him included that fact that he had been charged with a DUI.
“When you go to Wikipedia and see that under your biography, you have to do something about that,” he said.
Adamle, of Evanston, graduated from Northwestern in 1971. During his college career he earned All-American honors and was named Big Ten MVP in his senior season, according to his WMAQ-Ch. 5 biography.
He was a fourth-round draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in 1971, and played for the New York Jets and Chicago Bears before retiring in 1977. After his football career, Adamle worked as a sports reporter and anchor for a variety of stations before joining WMAQ-Ch. 5.
He was promoted this week to a full-time sportscaster position with the NBC affiliate, said a station representative. The full-time position opened up after former sportscaster Daryl Hawks, 38, was found dead in an Atlanta hotel room while on assignment there.
According to the Sun Times series about the Northwestern team on which Mike played, he sometimes suffers from brain function issues caused by concussions during his playing days. That is why the cops thought his behavior was suspicious. Glad these charges were dropped as Mike is one of the nicest people you’d ever want to meet.
@hazardmj What’s really surprising is that they would choose to charge a former Bear & current sportscaster when he was under the limit. Charging someone else doesn’t surprise me too much but to do it to someone “famous”…that surprises me. Seems like either a rookie cop or someone with a power ego to sustain.
If they’re found not guilty can’t they get that taken off their record or only if you have the money to hire a lawyer?
The Police can charge you with dui as long as they have probable cause and that can be had with a very low level of validity. It is basically your word against the police officer who charges you. If they believe you are under the influence, such as “proven” by faulty sobriety tests, then you can be charged. Now finding you guilty is another story, but then it is too late to erase the original charge.