Police recording: Ex-commissioner Opat tried to use his name to avoid jail after DWI arrest

Mike Opat tried to use his position as a former Hennepin County commissioner to avoid being taken to jail on the night of his arrest in October for drunken driving, according to a police recording of a conversation between him and the officer who pulled him over.

KMSP-TV, Channel 9, acquired police video and audio from the night of Opat's arrest, and it revealed that he referred to his 28 years on the County Commission until 2020 and asked the officer to be lenient and not book him into jail.

It was a request the officer refused, and Opat was jailed that night, the recording disclosed.

Opat admitted on Dec. 10 to drunken driving and was sentenced to two years of probation along with a suspended jail sentence as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

The 61-year-old Democrat was jailed on Oct. 5 until posting bail the next day and charged with driving under the influence in connection with failing to make a complete stop at a stop sign in Dayton at N. 113th Avenue and Fernbrook Lane, leading an officer to pull him over.

A preliminary breath test measured his blood alcohol content at 0.093%, above the legal limit of .08% for driving in Minnesota.

"My name doesn't ring any bell for you? I don't drop my name often," the audio-only portion of the recording captured Opat as saying to the officer. "I was the Hennepin County commissioner for 28 years."

Opat then asked for permission to call the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, which had no involvement in the case, and the officer asked him why he was making the request.

"Well, to avoid that," Opat responded. "And I'd like to ask you to consider a little bit of humanity. I'm not a threat to anything. ... There's no reason to take me to the adult detention center."

The officer responded: "There is."

Reached by telephone Monday, Opat declined to address his conversation with the officer, explaining, "The case is over. I have no need to reply."