CLEVELAND — Cathy Luks, the former North Royalton mayor who was arrested following a September police chase in Parma, was arraigned in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on Monday.
The 66-year-old Luks pleaded not guilty to charges of driving while under the influence of drugs/alcohol and failure to comply with the order/signal of a police officer. She posted a $5,000 personal bond and will have a pre-trial hearing on Nov. 29.
Her arrest came on Wednesday, Sept. 27, at around 12:33 p.m. when she was allegedly driving 43 mph in a 25 mph zone at Pearl and Brookpark roads. The officer who stopped Luks also reportedly observed an expired license plate on her vehicle.
Police say Luks refused to cooperate or listen to the officer's commands and eventually fled from the officer northbound on Pearl Road, leading police on a chase. The pursuit ended after Luks allegedly jumped a curb and crashed into an unoccupied tow truck in the parking lot of 4925 Pear Road in Cleveland.
3News obtained body camera footage from the incident, in which Luks identifies herself as the former mayor of North Royalton.
"What you're doing is wrong," she can be heard saying in the tape. "You know what, I was the mayor of the city of North Royalton."
Luks served as mayor of North Royalton from 1999-2007. Her tenure was notable for a 2004 incident that saw her survive a recall effort from residents angry at the city's alleged lack of sewer maintenance, triggering widespread area flooding. At the time, she told WKYC "petty politics" were behind the attempts to oust her.
According to police, Luks was cited for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, speeding, open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle and having an expired license plate.