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Delegate Chris Hurst, a second-term Democrat from Blacksburg, was pulled over around 2 a.m. Sunday morning on suspicion of drunk driving.

While traveling west along the U.S. 460 Bypass, Hurst was spotted by a local police officer swerving across the fog line a number of times while traveling at a high rate of speed, leading to the initiation of a traffic stop.

What happened next has members of the public up in arms.

According to local news reports and a statement by the Town of Christiansburg, “when the officer approached the driver, he noticed the driver’s eyes were red and he smelled the odor of alcohol coming from within the vehicle.” After asking Hurst to step out, the officer performed three sobriety tests and a breathalyzer, which showed Hurst had a blood alcohol content of .084%, which is above Virginia’s legal limit of .08%.

Following the failed breathalyzer test, the officer instructed Hurst to park his car at a nearby Walmart and sober up for a bit, before allowing the vehicle’s passenger, Hurst’s girlfriend, to finish the drive home.

Under Virginia state law, the officer was unable to arrest or charge Hurst because of a provision disallowing the prosecution of legislators for reasons other than “treason, felony, or breach of the peace” when the General Assembly is in session.

While some have pointed out that driving drunk could easily constitute a breach of the peace, Montgomery County’s Commonwealth’s Attorney argues that the term is generally used to describe violent offenses.