L.A. Prosecutor Arrested After Crashing Car and Then Drinking As He Waited For Police

Veteran Los Angeles County Prosecutor Michael Pettersen is facing a very serious charge after he rear-ended a car in Calabasas and then remained in his wrecked BMW drinking alcohol out of a bottle as various people videotaped him. He then exited the car and collapsed in a stupor.  Adding to the notoriety was the fact that he hit the car of a local radio celebrity called Big Boy, aka Kurt Alexander,

Deputies struggled to get Peterson to a patrol car and he was eventually booked on felony DUI charges.

This is not his first run in with the law.  Pettersen was put on leave after his law license was suspended in September, 2017. He has been previously arrested for drunk driving and was sought on an arrest warrant after failing to appear. He was also cited in 2016 for driving on a suspended license.  He also failed to appear for that appearance — resulting in another warrant to be issued.

He has been a prosecutor for 28 years.  It is a sad story of obvious addiction and a man in what seems a free fall.

The LA county prosecutors will hand over the case to another office due to the conflict with former colleagues prosecuting the case.