President Obama’s half-uncle arrested in Framingham

By Martin Finucane, Billy Baker, and Glen Johnson, Globe Staff

President Obama’s half-uncle was arrested last week in Framingham on a drunken driving charge, according to a spokesman for the law firm representing him in an immigration proceeding.

Onyango Obama, 67, of Framingham, the half-brother of the president’s late father, was arrested Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. at the corner of Waverly and South streets, said Middlesex district attorney’s spokeswoman Cara O’Brien.

When the elder Obama was asked if he wanted to make a phone call to arrange for bail, he said,“I think I will call the White House,” according to the police report.

At the time, the president was vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard.

The report goes on to say that Onyango Obama was stopped after he allegedly made a quick turn in front of a police officer, forcing both the officer and the driver of a car behind the officer to slam on their brakes.

The officer, identified as Val Krishtal, then pulled over Obama in front of the Chicken Bone Saloon.

The officer said Obama, who spoke English well, had slurred speech and “the male would not allow me to speak and continued to interrupt me.”

When the officer explained he had to slam on his brakes, “he told me that he did not hear my tires screeching, so I was not being accurate.”

Obama initially claimed not to have been drinking but then acknowledged having one beer and then a second beer, the report said. The officer said Obama then failed three field sobriety tests and was booked without further incident.

At the station, Obama allegedly registered a 0.14 percent blood alcohol level on a Breathalyzer test. The legal limit in Massachusetts is 0.08 percent.

Obama was arraigned Thursday on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol, failure to yield at an intersection, and negligent operation, said O’Brien. She said a judge ordered him released on personal recognizance, but he was held on a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer.

Mike Rogers, a spokesman for immigration attorney Margaret Wong, said Obama is the president’s half-uncle. He said Wong is representing Obama in a deportation proceeding.

“ICE does not comment on specific cases,” the ICE press office said in an emailed statement.

A White House spokesman referred all request for comment to ICE.