WESTPORT — A filmmaker, whose credits include a documentary, “Hey Bartender,” faces a charge of driving while impaired after being stopped for what police said was failure to obey a stop sign last week.
Douglas Tirola, 56, of Westport, was charged with driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, as well as a stop sign violation, in connection with the Dec. 10 incident.
Tirola, a member of the Remarkable Theater board, was pulled over by an officer about 11:45 p.m. Dec. 10 after he allegedly failed to stop at a stop sign at Weston Road and Main Street.
The officer smelled alcohol while talking with Tirola, according to the report, and based on his investigation and results of a field sobriety test, placed Tirola under arrest.
Tirola was taken to Police Department headquarters, where he was formally charged and later released after posting $500 bond. He is scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 19 at state Superior Court in Stamford.
The documentary “Hey Bartender” was a brilliant film about both the struggles of running an independent restaurant in a very challenging industry and a young rising star in his chosen profession of bartending. The apparent implication of taking a title out of context of a work of art and applying it to an unfortunate event is poor journalism at best especially since there have been numerous prior postings of such events on this site with nary a word of anything other than the event itself. Mr. Tirola has given much to this community and at the very least deserves equal treatment.