Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin Backs Preston Doerflinger, Despite Arrest

By Randy Ellis, Staff WriterGov. Mary Fallin expressed confidence Monday in Preston Doerflinger and plans to keep him as her Cabinet secretary of finance despite his arrest Thursday night. “Preston has apologized to Governor Fallin and assured her nothing like this will ever happen again,” Alex Weintz, the governor’s communications director, said Monday in a statement. Weintz said the governor has accepted Doerflinger’s apology and he will continue to work both as a cabinet secretary and director of the state Office of Management and Enterprise Services. “The governor continues to have confidence in his good work,” Weintz said. Doerflinger, 42, was arrested in Oklahoma City on a complaint of being in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. The arresting officer said as he was reading Doerflinger Oklahoma’s implied consent law, Doerflinger kept interrupting him by repeatedly saying, “Sir, please.” Doerflinger “also said he was parked in a parking lot and did not drive anywhere,” the officer reported. The initial call to police indicated Doerflinger’s vehicle was near 3245 Northwest Expressway, but police later located Doerflinger in his idling vehicle in a parking lot about a half mile away, according to the report. Doerflinger later was given a breath test that showed a breath alcohol content of 0.15, which is nearly double the legal limit of 0.08, according to a police report released Monday. Blacked out on the report was Doerflinger’s response to an officer who asked if he had been drinking alcohol. The municipal charge against Doerflinger is a misdemeanor.Read more on NewsOK.com