Former Vancouver Canuck Todd Bertuzzi, was arrested in Michigan on suspicion of impaired driving on Saturday morning.
Bertuzzi was taken into custody by Auburn Hills, MI police and booked at 3:35 a.m., according to Oakland County Jail online records.
Auburn Hills Police deputy chief and public information officer Ryan Gagnon told Glacier Media Monday he could not confirm details of Bertuzzi’s arrest but said the department is awaiting results of a blood test for an arrest at that time.
But TMZ is reporting that the resident of Michigan, and former Detroit Red Wing, was pulled over after going through a red light in Auburn Hills.
Police believed he was under the influence of alcohol and, according to TMZ, while he refused a breathalyzer test showed obvious signs of impairment.
If the blood test shows Bertuzzi had a blood alcohol rating of over 0.08%, he could face a maximum of 93 days in jail. If he was over 0.17%, he could face up to 180 days in jail. Other penalties range from short-term licence suspension, small fines to community service.
Bertuzzi is a polarizing personality, being both beloved and despised in the hockey community for his all-star calibre play but also his high-profile on-ice attack of Colorado Avalanche player Steve Moore on Feb. 16, 2004. The attack ended Moore’s career, after his vertebrae was fractured. An out-of-court settlement was reached with undisclosed terms, after an attempt by Moore to sue Bertuzzi.
Bertuzzi played for the Canucks between 1998 and 2006. He retired from hockey in Detroit in 2014.
