Police: Revolutionary War Re-Enactor Came To Give Presentation At Boxford School Drunk

BOXFORD (CBS) -- A Revolutionary War re-enactor was arrested at a Boxford elementary school Tuesday after police said he arrived at the school to give a presentation drunk. Dennis Cormier, 60, of Dracut, was charged with operating under the influence.

Boxford Police Chief James Riter said Cormier arrived at Spofford Elementary school for his presentation 30 minutes late. He was setting up in the cafeteria when school staff noticed he was unsteady on his feet, had glassy eyes and that his speech was slurred. The staff told him he was not going to to do the presentation and then called police.

Police said Cormier was going out to his car to leave when police stopped him. They said he denied drinking alcohol recently, but they found an empty nip of Sea Ice vodka in his vest pocket.

"He also was slurred speech, staggering and having difficulty navigating the process of setting up his props," Riter said.

The principal called police and Chief Riter was one of the officers who responded.

Cormier took a sobriety test and allegedly had a blood alcohol content level of .205. The legal limit for driving is .08.

Cormier was arraigned in his re-enactor's outfit at Haverhill District Court and was taken back to the police department after arraignment because he was still intoxicated, police said. No children were aware of the incident.

"The students never even saw him. I spoke with a few families later on in the day that their children were supposed to be at the presentation and they just knew the party wasn't there," Riter said. "So that's it. The school notified us. We were able to get him in a private area of the building and we got him off the campus as soon as possible."

This is Cormier's first OUI.