Former Twin Cities City Councilmember Admits to Felony Charge
Robbinsdale, MN (KROC-AM News) - A man who recently resigned from the Robbinsdale City Council has entered guilty pleas to a felony and two gross misdemeanor charges.
38-year-old Tyler Kline admitted to the felony count of fleeing police along with two DWI charges during a hearing today in Hennepin County Court. He is scheduled to be sentenced in August.
Kline resigned from the City Council in the northwest Twin Cities on May 27 after receiving numerous calls for his resignation in the weeks following his arrest in late January. According to the criminal complaint, Kline was driving a minivan that was involved in a wrong way hit and run crash on Highway 100 in the early hours of January 24th.
A police officer in Crystal spotted Kline a short time after the crash and attempted to block him using his squad car. The attempt failed when Kline "made eye contact with the officer" and then fled by driving around the law enforcement vehicle. Kline was eventually stopped when another officer drove his squad car into the minivan.
After he ignored repeated orders to get out of the minivan, the complaint says the officers involved physically removed him from the driver's seat and noted he smelled of alcohol, had watery, bloodshot eyes, and poor balance. A breath test put his blood-alcohol-concentration at .20, or more than three times above the legal limit, nearly an hour after the initial crash occurred.