Former San Francisco Archbishop William Joseph Levada was arrested on suspicion of DUI in Hawaii.
Levada, 79, was the highest American clergymen in the Catholic church, and drew criticism from some who thought he was not tough enough of priests embroiled in sex abuse scandals. He resigned from his post in 2012 after turning 75.
According to the Hawaii Police Department log, there were 25 drivers arrested during the week of Aug. 17, and nine of those were involved in traffic accidents. Levada was arrested and charged with DUI on Aug. 19 at just before midnight, according to Hawaii Police Dept. spokesman Chris Loos.
An officer spotted him "swerving" while traveling north on Queen Kaahumanu Highway north of Kealakehe Parkway, Loos said.
“I regret my error in judgment. I intend to continue fully cooperating with the authorities,” Levada said in an email statement sent by the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
The Menlo Park religious icon was vacationing with other priests on the Big Island when he was pulled ove, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported.
Levada was driving a 2015 Nissan Altima and was alone in the car at the time, a police spokeswoman told the newspaper. She could not say who the car is registered to or if the car was towed. She also declined to give Levada’s blood-alcohol content, but a 0.08 blood-alcohol level is the threshold for legal intoxication in Hawaii.
Levada was released on $500 bail an hour after his arrest, according to the police log reviewed by the Tribune-Herald. He is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 24.
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Levada was born in Long Beach and he worked in parishes in the Archdioceses of Los Angeles, Portland, Ore.; and San Francisco.
