FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth city council member and Texas House candidate Cary Moon told Burleson police he once served as mayor of Fort Worth and asked officers to call the police chief during his October 2020 arrest on a driving while intoxicated charge.
“Y’all know who I am, right?” he later said after an officer told Moon he was to take a blood test by force of warrant.
Burleson police arrested Moon shortly after 2:30 a.m. Oct. 17. In June 2020, he pleaded no contest to driving while intoxicated and was sentenced to 18 months of probation. He has since been accused of violating his probation and a hearing on a motion to have it revoked is set for February.
“My DUI from 2020 has been a well-known public matter for over a year and a half,” Moon said in a Friday statement. “I talk to people every day about the DUI. I screwed up. It made me better. I plead guilty to the charge and own up to the personal failing and the legal consequences.
“In no way, has the failing impacted my ability to be an effective member of the Fort Worth city Council, nor will it impact my ability to be an effective member in the Texas House. In May 2021, after the DUI, I was graciously re-elected to a 4th term winning by 25%. My friends, family, and neighbors have been gracious and I appreciate their faith in me to have made corrections and to own up to the legal implications.”
Moon hadn’t seen the video when reached by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and later issued a written statement.
In the video, an officer can be heard saying Moon was “running over curbs.” A police spokesperson at the time said the council member was driving on South Dobson Street and didn’t make a complete stop at a stop sign. His truck hit a curb, drove into grass and then back onto the road. He hit the curb again when an officer pulled him over.
In a video of the arrest obtained by the Star-Telegram through an open records request, Moon, his face blurred, appears to be struggling to understand instructions for field sobriety tests.
“Seriously guys, please, can you talk to me for two seconds,” he said as he’s asked to get in a police car.
“I left my business,” Moon soon added. “I’m not that bad.”
“No one said that you were bad,” an officer replied.
“Please man, come on man, I was the mayor of Fort Worth,” he said. Seconds later Moon said, “I didn’t do this.”
Moon has not served as mayor but has represented District 4 since his election to the City Council in 2015. He has served the second longest of any member, after Mayor Pro-Tem Gyna Bivens. His district includes areas within Loop 820 and stretches into far north Fort Worth.
During the interaction, Moon asks law enforcement for water and to call Burleson Police Chief Billy Cordell. He says he’s not a threat, and an officer says he doesn’t believe him to be one but that Moon isn’t listening.
“I’m totally listening man, and I’m totally complying,” Moon said.
As he’s preparing for a blood test, Moon asks whether he needs an attorney and whether he’s being recorded. It’s confirmed the interaction is being recorded.
A few minutes later, Moon — the video being recorded from a different angle — asks “And what if I refuse?”
“You’ve already refused, that’s why we have a warrant,” an officer said.
“I’ve already refused?” Moon said.
“You refused,” the officer said. “Remember in the back of the car when I said ‘Do you give consent for a blood draw?’ and you said no you did not. So I ... presented all of the facts to a judge. She signed a warrant stating to come get your blood. So now you’re being forced to.”
“You’re in Johnson County?” Moon said.
“Correct.”
“Y’all know who I am, right?”
“I know who you are , sir,” the officer said.
Court documents show Moon is accused of breaking the terms of his probation by drinking alcohol, failing to submit to urinalysis testing, failing to complete community service and traveling out of state without permission. A hearing on the motion to revoke was set for Jan. 18 in Johnson County but has been pushed to Feb. 22, online court records show.
Moon is running for House District 93, a seat held GOP Rep. Matt Krause, who is running for Tarrant County District Attorney. Moon is facing two opponents in the Republican primary: Former Southlake Mayor Laura Hill and Nate Schatzline, the founder of the organization For Liberty & Justice.
At a recent candidate forum, Moon addressed the motion to revoke his probation. Among his comments at the event, he maintained hand sanitizer and mouth wash accounted for high readings on his court-ordered ignition interlock device. Moon told the Star-Telegram the “only thing” he’s currently in violation of is traveling outside of the state to pick up first responders for a 9-11 ceremony.
A representative from the county attorney’s office said the office doesn’t generally comment on pending litigation.
(Staff Writer Bud Kennedy contributed to this report.)
