Police arrest retired Navy SEAL Rob O'Neill for driving under the influence

Publish date: 2024-05-17

Police arrested retired Navy SEAL Rob O'Neill — who said he fired the shots that killed Osama bin Laden — for driving under the influence early Friday, according to the Butte-Silver Bow County sheriff's department.

O'Neill, 39, was found sleeping behind the wheel of a blue 2005 Nissan Sentra at the Town Pump, Montana and Platinum, about 2:30 a.m. The vehicle was running and the tail lights were on, said Undersheriff George Skuletich.

Police officers woke him up by opening the car door. They said he appeared under the influence — confused and somewhat lethargic. He failed a field sobriety test typically given to suspected alcohol-impaired drivers and other tests at the county jail.

The undersheriff said O'Neill refused a Breathalyzer test and was released from jail at 4:26 a.m. on a $685 bond.

County prosecutors charged O'Neill with misdemeanor DUI, a first offense. He was issued a notice to appear at an arraignment in Butte city court by Tuesday.

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Four police officers responded to the scene after five to six individuals alerted the convenience store clerk that a man was sleeping in a running car.

According to the report, O'Neill said he had one drink, then denied it. He also said he may have taken Ambien, a prescription drug most often used to treat insomnia. Alcohol was not detected on his breath by police and was not found in the vehicle.

O'Neill told authorities he had flown to Butte from overseas, saying initially it was from Europe and then saying Central America.

Skuletich said reports show that although O'Neill was "very cooperative," officers determined he was unable to operate a motor vehicle safely. His Texas driver's license was taken by police, and he was issued a 72-hour temporary driving permit. Because O'Neill refused a breath test, he faces a six-month suspension of his driver's license, according to state law.

The firm that manages O'Neill's motivational speaking engagements — CRC Public Relations in Alexandria, Virginia, — declined to comment Friday afternoon.

Sheriff Ed Lester issued this statement on the arrest:

"I have great respect for Rob O'Neill and what he has done for our country. That being said, this incident was handled the same way as any other DUI investigation. Mr. O'Neill has the same presumption of innocence as any other citizen. We will let the county attorney and the court proceed from this point."

O'Neill's 40th birthday party, open to the public, has been in the works for some time and is planned Saturday at The Depot on South Arizona Street.

According to the Associated Press, O'Neill began publicly discussing his role in the 2011 bin Laden raid two years ago. He told The Associated Press in a 2014 interview that the U.S. public had a right to know more details about the killing of the al-Qaida leader.

Pentagon officials previously said it is not clear whose shots killed bin Laden. O'Neill has made numerous speeches across the country since 2014.

O'Neill, who joined the Navy in 1995, participated in the 2009 rescue of the captain of a merchant ship taken hostage by Somali pirates, a mission that was the subject of the Tom Hanks movie "Captain Phillips."

He also helped rescue the survivor of a four-man team attacked in 2005 while tracking a Taliban leader in Afghanistan, which operation was featured in the 2013 film "Lone Survivor."

O'Neill was born and raised in Butte.

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