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A member of the Scarsdale Police Department was driving on Post Road at approximately 11:15 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15, when he spotted a Honda Pilot stopped at a red light. When the light turned green, the officer said that the driver - later identified as Bronx resident Arthur Harris Funchess, 41 - rapidly sped up and was forced to slam on his brakes to avoid rear-ending the car in front of him.
During the subsequent traffic stop, police said that Funchess has glassy, bloodshot eyes, and his speech was “extremely slurred.” Funchess then failed several Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, and an Alco-sensor pre-screening test found that his blood alcohol content was .18 percent, more than double the legal limit. He was arrested and transported to Scarsdale Police Headquarters for processing, at which point he began fighting officers.
Police said that upon arrival at police headquarters, Funchess refused to exit the vehicle and began cursing at officers, shouting “you’re going to have to beat me,” and “you arrested me, now you’re (gonna) have to work for it.” Additional officers were called in to assist, and it ultimately took four men to get Funchess out of the police cruiser and into a holding cell.
Funchess was advised of the DWI arrest three times, and he refused to submit to a Datamaster DMT test. Police said that “due to the violent nature of (Funchess'), threats and overall refusal to cooperate, they were unable to fingerprint or photograph him.
While in his cell, Funchess continued shouting obscenities at officers and threatened to kill them. He also urinated on the cell block door intentionally and continued kicking the cell wall.
According to the officers who assisted in the arrest, Funchess continued to shout “if you take these cuffs off, you won’t be going home to your families,” “cops should be eradicated,” and made other similar threats.
Funchess was charged with driving while intoxicated, obstruction of governmental administration and resisting arrest. He was remanded to the Westchester County Jail without bail following his arraignment. He is scheduled to appear in court at a later date to answer the charges.
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