National Football League

Police: Sandusky refused blood test

Published Oct. 9, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

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Cleveland Browns executive Jon Sandusky, the son of former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, was cooperative but refused to take a blood test when he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in North Dakota, police said Wednesday.

Fargo Police Lt. Joel Vettel said Sandusky, 36, was pulled over for making an illegal turn at 1:50 a.m. Tuesday near the city's downtown. Sandusky, the director of player personnel for the Browns, allegedly crossed three lanes of traffic to make the turn.

Officers determined Sandusky was driving under the influence after administering field sobriety tests. He told police he was coming from ''just down the road,'' Vettel said.

''They didn't press him on that answer,'' Vettel said. ''We don't know where he was at.''

Court records listed no attorney for Sandusky, who is out on bail. Calls to a listing for Jon Sandusky in Strongsville, Ohio, rang unanswered and then disconnected without allowing a message to be left. A hearing for Sandusky has not been scheduled.

Under a North Dakota law that went into effect July 1, anyone who refuses to take a chemical test is considered guilty of drunken driving, said Fargo attorney Mark Friese, a former police officer who specializes in DUI cases. North Dakota is one of about a dozen states that has criminalized the refusal to submit to testing, he said.

''That's subject to a great deal of challenge right now,'' Friese said.

Sandusky is in his fourth season as Cleveland's director of player personnel after spending nine seasons with Philadelphia's personnel department. He's responsible for the evaluation of college prospects and NFL free agents. He played safety for Penn State from 1996-99.

Fargo is home to North Dakota State, the No. 1 team in the Football Championship Subdivision. Offensive lineman Billy Turner and defensive back Marcus Williams are considered the top prospects for the Bison, who defeated Northern Iowa Saturday at the Fargodome.

The Bison athletic department declined to comment on Sandusky.

Sandusky's arrest comes a few months after two Denver Broncos executives were suspended by the team for drunken driving. Tom Heckert, the team's director of pro personnel, and Matt Russell, director of player personnel, were arrested within a month of each other this past summer.

Jerry Sandusky, 69, a former defensive coordinator for the Nittany Lions, is serving 30 to 60 years in prison for sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years.