Shocking bodycam footage shows smartly dressed judge, 63, so drunk he couldn't remember the ALPHABET

Published: 17:53, 2 June 2026 | Updated: 17:53, 2 June 2026 Shocking bodycam footage captured a 63-year-old judge brutally failing a field sobriety test moments after he allegedly rammed into a bus with his car in Michigan. Sterling Heights police officers responded to the scene where they said John Chmura, a judge for more than 30 years, rear-ended a SMART bus on March 25. Bodycam footage showed Chmura wobbling out of his car while wearing a suit, informing an officer that he had just left an event 'over there.' While leaning on his vehicle, he appears to slur his words as he tells the cop that he is a judge.  At one point, the officer asked how much he had to drink to which Chmura replied: 'I don't know. Evidently too much.' A cut in the footage follows to the moment the judge absolutely fails at two separate sobriety tests. The officer explains that Chmura must count backward from 87 to 78. The judge, initially slurring, gets many of the numbers correct but then repeats himself, blows past 78, and at one point starts counting upwards. Judge John Chmura for more than 30 years was arrested on March 25 after he allegedly crashed into a bus while intoxicated  Bodycam footage appeared to show the 63-year-old slurring his words while speaking to the responding officers   He was then asked to recite the alphabet from C to N, which he immediately attempted, but he began to ramble before asking the officer to repeat the instructions. The alphabet test appeared much more difficult than reciting numbers backward, and following the failure, Chmura told the officer that his performance was 'not ok.' Chmura was then asked to take a PBT test, commonly known as a breathalyzer. The judge was left pondering for a minute as he stared at the ground before asking, 'Do I have to?' He initially denied and was arrested but later agreed. According to C and G News, a PBT was performed, resulting in .162 percent blood alcohol content, which is more than double Michigan's legal limit. A blood draw was reportedly conducted at a hospital and allegedly revealed a BAC of 0.196. A St. Clair County prosecutor has been assigned to the case instead of the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office as Chmura would oversee cases brought by the latter. Chmura also seemed to brutally fail two separate field sobriety tests before further tests found that he was allegedly twice as drunk as Michigan's legal limit  The judge is expected to appear in court in August He is expected to appear in court in August. Chmura's attorney, David Kramer, declined to comment on specifics of the case to Click on Detroit. In a statement, Kramer said the judge 'is a very respected jurist with a fine reputation, and we'll deal with this case as it comes.' The Daily Mail has reached out to Kramer for comment. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.