Radio personality "Jammer"
Scott Leslie Riseman, whose radio name is Jay "Jammer" Scott, apologized Tuesday afternoon on his show for his arrest Sunday night on several charges.
He read a statement in which he apologized to his wife and daughters, to radio station personnel and to listeners.
The popular broadcaster said he could not discuss details of the arrest on advice of his attorney, Jerry Summers, but he said he will fully discuss it in the future.
"The facts will come out at some point," he said.
He said he had received an outpouring of support from listeners.
The sheriff's department said Riseman was stopped in the 9300 block of Highway 27 and charged with second-offense DUI, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, having an open container of alcohol and resisting a stop and frisk.
He was released on a $3,000 bond.
He did not do his show Monday afternoon, but was back Tuesday. He said he had asked station manager Bill Lockhart if he wanted him to resign, and he said he was told that was not necessary.
Station officials said they had no comment, but had confidence in the judicial system to handle the case. They said he would remain as an on-air host while the case is pending.
Riseman, who also works as a mortgage broker, read the station's brief statement as well as his own at the start of the Tuesday program.
County Officer G. Myers said around 10 p.m. he got behind a vehicle going northbound on Highway 27 near Soddy-Daisy. He said he noticed the vehicle crossing the centerline and also the fog line. He said that at one point, the vehicle went over the centerline with over three fourths of the vehicle across the line.
He said he stopped the maroon Acura, and he could smell an intoxicant on the driver's breath. He said his eyes were bloodshot and watery.
He said Riseman had trouble getting his driver's license out of his wallet.
The officer said that after a backup officer arrived from Soddy-Daisy, he asked Riseman to step out of his vehicle and come back to his. He said Riseman was very unsteady on his feet and put his hand on his vehicle to steady himself.
He said he asked him to perform some field sobriety tests, but Riseman said, No. The officer said that Riseman told him he was cold and was going to get back in his vehicle and call some friends.
The officer said, "I put my hand up to stop him, and he pushed his body into it. I told the driver to place his hands behind his back, and he said, No, he was getting in his vehicle. I grabbed a hold of him to try to cuff him and he tried to pull away. Myself and the other officers got him down on his trunk and got his hands behind him and cuffed him."
The officer said a search of the vehicle turned up a marijuana pipe and a film holder with around two grams of marijuana. He said he also found a bottle of Jack Daniels and an empty 24-ounce Bud Lite can.
He said Riseman refused a blood test.
Riseman is due in General Sessions Court March 4 at 1:30 p.m.
This is his full statement:
I will make it available for all media types who wish it. Will those who reported the story want to hear or use my statement? We will see how many truly want to at least mention what I'm about to say, since no two stories I've heard, seen or read yet match up.
I would like to say a lot of things right now. As you can probably imagine, there is a lot racing through my mind. I'm not at liberty at this time to tell, as Paul Harvey would say, "the rest of the story." Though I would like to share a few of my inner thoughts this one time.
I would like to apologize to my wife of 17 years & my daughters. I don't feel deserving of their love at this time.
I would like to apologize to my second family, my Citadel family, my co-workers, fellow hosts. I'm very sorry to put Danny Brown, general manager, Scott Chase, operations manager, and Bill Lockhart, program director of WGOW AM/FM, all of whom I've known since the mid 80s at least through this public ordeal.
I would like to apologize to my third family, you the listener of this show, many of whom I don't know individually or personally, some of which have become acquaintances in the three and a half years I've been back in this building. Many of you to this moment are leaving me voice messages, calling, emailing, faxing. Many of you have literally come out of the walls with your love, thoughts, prayers and for this I thank you!
Jammer Radio is billed as the Equal Opportunity Offender Network. We have gone places no one has dared go, scrutinized the spending of taxpayer dollars, the works and goings on of our local, county, state, national & international events. I've never once thought of my responsibilities on the air as trying to ruin lives or cost people their livelihood.
I've had "off the record" conversations with just about anyone who is anyone within the sound of my voice, with rare exceptions. I protect and honor my sources, from any repercussions they might encounter because they were brave enough to say or do something, from the top officials in Hamilton County to the commoner.
Those who know me professionally know the Equal Opportunity Offender Network means just that - I will pick up the phone and get both sides of the story. Sometimes we get both sides and sometimes we don't, but it isn't for lack of attempt. The powerful and most highest people in the highest places have called me "fair and decent". If this show ended today, I'd walk away knowing that almost all elected or appointed officials would say that about me.
I was given two rules when accepting this position in 1999:
1) be the Jammer, don't be boring, and
2) don't pick on tragedies.
I would never do number two, and number one is suspect to you the listener which leads me to my next point: Our Constitution provides us the rights and I dare add privilege to speak our minds as a freedom of expression. I can't control what people think or what conclusion you may already have drawn from the media blitz since yesterday.
I've always drawn the line in the sand personally that I would never speak publicly to anyone's personal lives, though there are many movers, shakers, VIP's, far more important people than me who have some really nasty laundry. The only time I've ever mentioned anything of such nature has been based on the use of the public's money. I will continue this policy even though I could talk for the rest of this week into next what I know to be true facts about people's private lives. But i choose not to. As the saying goes, we all have skeletons in our closet, some may have more meat on the bones than others.
I've often stated, and as recently as last Thursday on these air waves, I'm not the smartest man. I don't know it all, never claimed to. When I'm wrong, or my information is "off base", I apologize, correct the mistakes made, and am big enough of a person to do that. Those who've been behind the microphone, or in the media or just the common listener have indicated to me they don't know how I do it. Three hours, no co-hosts. I wonder this too sometimes!
Folks, I find myself at a very weird point right now. I guess I will find out now just who is my true friend, true acquaintance, true supporter. There's one lesson I learned when I began this show: there's two sides to every story, and there is to last Sunday night. For once in my life, i will not discuss any of the details at this time, at the advice of my legal expert attorney, Jerry Summers.
There will be a time in the future that I will.