By Frank Hughes
Frank.hughes@thenewstribune.com

KIRKLAND – Seattle Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu has officially been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, for which he was arrested on May 10.
Tatupu has an arraignment hearing in Kirkland Municipal Court on June 17 at 8:45 a.m.
His attorney, Jon Fox, was not immediately available for comment. Tatupu practiced with the team at Monday’s morning’s mini-camp at the team’s practice facility but the team did not make him available for interviews. The Seahawks had no immediate comment.

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Tatupu was arrested on May 10 after an officer spotted him going more than 15 mph over the 35 mph speed limit at 2 a.m. After some erratic driving, the officer stopped Tatupu in a fast food parking lot.
Tatupu failed three field sobriety tests, refusing to take an on-site portable breath test. At the police station, Tatupu registered a 0.155 and 0.158, almost twice the state limit of 0.08, almost two hours after he was initially spotted speeding.
There was some question about whether Tatupu would be charged because the arresting officer failed to immediately read Tatupu his Miranda Rights, stopping on the side of the road en route to the police station to read him his rights.
Though it took nearly a month to charge Tatupu, that is not an unusual delay for the prosecutor’s office. A spokeswoman for the Kirkland Police Department originally said it would take 30 to 60 days for Tatupu to be charged.
After his arrest, Tatupu issued a statement through the team that read: "I want to apologize to my family, teammates, the Seahawks ownership and organization, and the fans for making a poor decision and putting myself in a bad situation. I take seriously my role as a leader on this team, and in the community, and because of that I'm disappointed and embarrassed by the level of poor judgment I used last weekend. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. This will never happen again, and I hope through hard work on and off the field to begin earning your respect and trust again."
According to the NFL drug policy, Tatupu faces a possible fine of one half of 1/17th of his $520,000 base salary, or about $15,000. He would not face a league-mandated suspension unless he has a second offense.
On March 21 the team announced that it had signed Tatupu to a six-year, $42 million contract extension, at which time Seahawks general manager Tim Ruskell said Tatupu was the heart and soul of the team.
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