NEWTON, Iowa —

The mayor of an Iowa town has been charged with operating while intoxicated after police stopped him for driving erratically last week.

According to court documents, Fort Dodge mayor Matt Bemrich, 52, swerved across the center line of North Ninth Street numerous times around 9 p.m. Sept. 10 and made an improper turn, prompting an officer to initiate a traffic stop.

The officer attempted to pull Bemrich over in the 900 block of Seventh Avenue North, but he "did not stop right away and drove home" — about two blocks away.

A criminal complaint says Bemrich "smelled of alcohol and admitted to having drinks prior to driving." He also showed signs of intoxication during field sobriety tests, records show, and "refused the walk and turn test for medical reasons."

A breath test

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