A Watertown state representative was arrested and charged with drunken driving after police say he struck a parked car and left the scene near the State House.

“I am a state rep,” John Lawn, a 56-year-old Democrat who represents the 10th Middlesex District in the Massachusetts Legislature, allegedly told a police officer at around 1:20 a.m. Wednesday as the officer approached Lawn’s trashed GMC Yukon SUV.

Lawn, who co-chairs the Health Care Financing Committee at the State House, faces charges of operating a vehicle under the influence of liquor and leaving the scene of property damage. His driver’s license is also suspended for refusing to take a breathalyzer test.

Lawn issued a statement through his attorney, Timothy Flaherty, in which he says he is sorry.

“I deeply regret and take full responsibility for my actions. What happened was completely unacceptable. I make no excuses. I am committed to taking the necessary steps to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again,” Lawn wrote in his statement. “To my family, friends, and constituents, I have let you down, and for that I am deeply sorry.”

Circumstances

Lawn’s SUV, the officer noted in his report, appeared to be “leaning to one side” as it was parked on Bowdoin Street near the intersection with Beacon Street. The officer noted “extreme damage to the passenger side front wheel … turned to an extreme degree not consistent with normal vehicle operations.”

The officer also noted “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage” coming from Lawn, and that his eyes were “glassy and bloodshot, and his speech was slurred.” Lawn said he was driving from an event at the State House, according to the police report.

The last scheduled event for Tuesday was sponsored by Lawn, according to the published State House events schedule for this week. However, that event, a “Legislative Committee Public Hearing” in the Gardner Auditorium, was scheduled to last from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The person who flagged the police down said he saw the Yukon strike a parked Toyota Tundra pickup truck on Hancock Street before then blowing past multiple stop signs without stopping, according to the police report.

The police officers ordered Lawn to exit the vehicle and noted that “he had difficulty maintaining his balance” and dropped his license and a credit card on the ground, according to the police report.

Lawn then proceeded to bomb a field sobriety test, according to the police report. The report notes that Lawn continually failed to follow instructions and even stabilized himself using both the police officer conducting the tests and a fence post. Lawn then refused to submit to a breathalyzer test.

“You know what I’d rather do,” Lawn allegedly told the officer, “I want to take an Uber and go home.”

He was instead arrested, and he allegedly continued with drunken antics at the Nashua Street Jail.

According to the police report, officers there had to steady him as he walked and that he made a mess of a urine sample process. Lawn allegedly couldn’t figure out how to do the test, and when he finally peed into the cup, he allegedly then dumped it all into the toilet and handed the intake nurse the empty cup.

Lawn did not answer a Herald call for comment. The Herald left a message.

Earlier scandal

Lawn earlier this year was subject to campaign finance scrutiny. He purged $14,000 in campaign donations, appointed new campaign staff and paid $500 to cover the state’s audit of his campaign records, the Herald reported at the time.

State Office of Campaign and Political Finance Director William Campbell said that his team “determined that no further action” was warranted due to Lawn’s remedial actions, but cautioned that should Lawn have campaign finance violations again, his case could be elevated to the attorney general.

Political response

House Speaker Ron Mariano released a statement saying that Lawn spoke with him and said he “takes full responsibility for this egregious lapse in judgment, and that he will work to ensure that something like this does not happen again.”

“I was very disappointed to learn of this news. Driving under the influence is an incredibly dangerous and often deadly mistake, and I am relieved that no one was injured in this particular instance,” Mariano wrote.

The Massachusetts Republican Party seized on Lawn’s arrest to make a broader political point about the excesses of a state controlled by a single political party.

“Wednesday’s arrest is another example of Beacon Hill Democrats using their titles to try and avoid punishment. By declaring himself a lawmaker at the time of his arrest, it’s clear Rep. Lawn sought to escape the consequences of his actions,” MassGOP spokesman Mark Steffen wrote in a statement.

“He should resign and offer the residents of Watertown the chance to elect a new representative who doesn’t ask officers to look the other way when he allegedly breaks the law,” Steffen continued.

Likewise, the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a state think tank that promotes fiscal responsibility as well as some conservative political positions, said the arrest opens up broader questions.

“The fact that a sitting lawmaker was leaving a State House event at nearly 2:00 a.m. before being arrested for drunk driving and fleeing the scene of an accident raises serious questions about what exactly is going on behind those closed doors,” MFA Executive Director Paul Diego Craney wrote in a statement. “The public deserves to know what kind of event was taking place, who was involved, and what the legislature is doing to hold itself accountable.”

Lawn’s “clear signs of intoxication,” Craney added, “is exactly the kind of behavior that reinforces public distrust in Beacon Hill.”

Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat who was formerly the state’s chief law enforcement officer as attorney general, said she hadn’t yet heard of the arrest when asked about it at the Sail Boston press conference at the Boston Harbor Hotel Wednesday afternoon.

“I haven’t heard anything about that,” Healey said. “Obviously, you know, there’s no tolerance for driving under the influence.”