Gilbert Baker, the former state senator and state Republican Party chair, was “belligerent and emotional” after Conway police arrested him Friday night for DWI, refusing a breath alcohol test and erratic driving.

The accounts from multiple officer witnesses also said Baker at one point suggested officers were breaking the law by denying him a drink of water while seeing if he’d take a breath alcohol test. He said he had a doctor’s orders to drink water frequently.

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Baker posted a $1,300 cash bond.

The report shows that Baker was stopped about 8 p.m. Friday night. he told officers he was returning from Little Rock. They said he was arrested after failing field sobriety tests. Earlier reports noted his booking at the Faulkner County jail around 4 a.m. Saturday.

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UPDATE: The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reached Baker for an interview. He apologized for his behavior and said he was “wrong” to make the officers’ jobs difficult. He told the newspaper he’d had one one or two margaritas at Little Rock restaurant prior to the traffic stop and though he’d passed the field sobriety test and thus was “frustrated” by his arrest. 

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