‘I drink to get drunk’: This man was charged with a DWI — for the 28th time, cops say

Danny Lee Bettcher likely holds a record in the state of Minnesota, although it isn’t one many strive to achieve — he’s been caught driving while drunk 28 times, police say.

The 64-year-old man was caught driving under the influence of alcohol on Thursday, according to the Star Tribune, after an off-duty officer allegedly saw him drinking in a VFW.

The cop, knowing Bettcher’s history of drunk driving, was nervous the intoxicated man may try to drive home, so he alerted on-duty officers about the situation.

A New York Mills police officer then watched as Bettcher left the VFW, got into his car and drove away, only to run a stop sign and swerve at 10 to 15 miles per hour on a 30 miles per hour road, according to WCSH6.

The officer turned on his car’s lights and sirens, but Bettcher kept driving for 200 yards until finally stopping.

Bettcher, after refusing to roll down his window, accidentally gave the officer his health card instead of his license, according to the Tribune. His eyes were bloodshot, he smelled of alcohol and there was an empty Pabst Blue Ribbon beer can in his back seat, police say.

Bettcher reportedly told police he can drink as much as he wants after the cop found his license and said there is an alcohol restriction on it because of his past 27 DWIs.

“I am way over, take me to jail,” Bettcher allegedly said after refusing to do a field sobriety test.

He had to lean on the cop car to keep from falling, police say.

He is charged with felony-level drunk driving and refusing to submit to a breath test, according to the Tribune.

That makes it the 28th time police have charged him with a DWI, only adding to the state record that authorities say he likely holds.

His 27th DWI arrest came in 2010, when he said “I drink to get drunk” while in an Otter Trail courtroom.

Megan Leonard, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, told the Tribune that Bettcher’s ID was valid at the time — but that there is a pending move to revoke his license because he violated the no-alcohol restriction.

Bettcher, who has an Oct. 30 court case, remains jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail. If found guilty, the maximum sentence is seven years, according to the Tribune, with the first two-thirds spent in prison.

This story was originally published October 4, 2017 at 5:13 AM with the headline "‘I drink to get drunk’: This man was charged with a DWI — for the 28th time, cops say."