New Bedford City Councilor Shawn Oliver appeared in New Bedford District Court on Monday morning to enter a plea of not guilty regarding a charge of operating under the influence of alcohol. The legal proceedings follow a weekend incident that resulted in Oliver suspending his campaign for lieutenant governor. Oliver entered the courthouse shortly before 9 a.m. as arraignments began. His lawyer, John Hendrie, greeted him warmly and led him into the lawyers’ lounge, where they stayed for a few minutes before walking into the courtroom together. Oliver sat quietly next to his wife, Emerald O’Driscoll-Oliver, near the back of the courtroom as he waited his turn to be called, watched intently by more than half a dozen journalists and photographers. When asked for comment by a reporter, Oliver stated, “I have no comment at this time.”
When called forward, Oliver pleaded not guilty to all charges: operating under the influence, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, speeding, and a marked lanes violation. At the prosecutor’s request, the court released Oliver on the condition that he not drive while his case is pending. He was released on personal recognizance, meaning without bail. His next court date is Nov. 16. The crash, which occurred Saturday around 11:40 p.m. on Dartmouth Street in New Bedford, involved an overturned car that damaged five vehicles, two of which sustained “extensive damage,” police spokesperson Holly Huntoon said. Oliver, 42, was taken to St. Luke’s for treatment of injuries and then placed under arrest. He suspended his campaign for lieutenant governor Sunday, a few hours after his release from Ash Street Jail in New Bedford. Voting has already begun, with Oliver on the ballot as the running mate of Republican candidate for governor Mike Minogue. Minogue said Sunday that if he is elected, he would ask Oliver to resign.
Oliver has been placed on restricted work duty at his job at the Massachusetts Treatment Center “while all facts and circumstances are reviewed,” Scott Croteau, a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Correction, told The Light in an email. The medium-security facility in Bridgewater houses criminally sentenced male sex offenders and people civilly committed as sexually dangerous persons. The office of the superintendent at the Massachusetts Treatment Center declined to provide any information regarding Oliver’s employment status.
Police reports released after the arraignment describe the scene on Dartmouth Street near the South End Stop & Shop. Officers found Oliver’s Lincoln Navigator upside down with no one inside. They noted a Toyota Camry “with extensive damage, pushed over the curb, across the sidewalk, and onto the grass.” A red Camry “also had extensive damage and was pushed back causing it to collide into another parked vehicle.” Five cars in all were affected. New Bedford Police Officer Andrew Parker arrived and found Oliver standing on the sidewalk, talking on his cell phone. The officer noticed Oliver was bleeding and had a cut behind his ear. When asked how he was feeling, Oliver told him, “OK. It’s been a long day.” Oliver told the officer he was meeting with friends in Dartmouth and was heading north on his way home. Oliver asked twice “if everyone else was OK” and told the officer he had been “burning both ends of the wick.”
A witness who wanted to remain anonymous told Officer Orlando Franco they were in a vehicle behind Oliver’s Navigator at a set of lights on Dartmouth Street, south of Rockdale Avenue. The witness stated that when the light turned green, the Navigator remained stopped, and the witness had to put their car in reverse to see if the light was green. The Navigator then accelerated through the intersection and veered right and left as it continued north. After passing through the intersection with Rockdale Avenue, it drifted left into the opposite lane where, traveling at high speed, it hit the parked cars on the west curb and flipped over. Franco followed the ambulance that brought Oliver to St. Luke’s Hospital. According to the report, Oliver told Franco he’d had “at least 2 alcoholic beverages earlier in the night at Black Bass Grill” before going to a friend’s house in Dartmouth. Franco observed that Oliver’s eyes were “bloodshot and glassy” and he smelled like alcohol. Franco wrote, “After speaking with Shawn, it was determined that he was under the influence of alcoholic beverages (and) should not have been operating a motor vehicle.” The officer told Oliver he was under arrest and handcuffed him to the hospital bed, but not before Oliver vomited. Oliver was not able to perform sobriety tests because of his injuries and refused an evidentiary blood draw.
In 2003, Oliver faced charges of operating an unregistered motor vehicle and “number plate violation to conceal identity” in Mattapoisett. Wareham District Court records show he admitted to sufficient facts in the concealment case, and the judge found sufficient facts but continued the case without a guilty finding. The records suggest Oliver paid $50 in court costs and a $21 per month probation service fee.
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