Joan Kennedy arrested for drunken driving

BARNSTABLE, Massachusetts (AP) -- Joan B. Kennedy, the former wife of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy who has described herself as a recovering alcoholic, has been charged with drunken driving on Cape Cod over the weekend.

Kennedy, 64, pleaded innocent Monday to charges of driving under the influence and to refusing to provide a license or registration when she was stopped Sunday night.

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Her attorney did not immediately return a telephone call Monday from The Associated Press. Her son, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-Rhode Island, released a statement noting his mother has long struggled with alcoholism.

"What my mother did was wrong and she will pay a price for it through the legal system," he said. "However, my mother has always been very supportive of me and I intend to stand by her side in this very difficult time."

Sgt. Arthur Caiado said police received a call at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday from a motorist reporting a car being driven erratically and swerving over the center line.

When police arrived, Kennedy was outside the car, police said. She gave her name only as Joan and refused to give the officer any other identification, police said.

Caiado declined to comment on whether she was given any alcohol tests. She produced her driver's license at the police station.

"She was very pleasant and cooperative," Caiado said.

Kennedy has spent time in a number of rehabilitation programs following arrests for drunken driving. According to the Cape Cod Times, she was arrested in Virginia in 1974, in Barnstable in 1988 and was ordered into alcohol treatment in 1991 after she an arrest in Quincy.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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