Actor Michael Madsen has had his share of substance abuse problems and legal troubles, and one more was just added to both categories after he was pulled over, arrested, and then hospitalized on Wednesday. This is the second time that Madsen has been arrested and that alcohol was involved and played a role in the last six months. A little before 3 in the afternoon on Wednesday a red Pontiac GTO was observed driving erratically in Malibu, and the vehicle was spotted on the Pacific Coast Highway and then pulled over. The arresting charge was suspicion of drunk driving, but when Madsen was being booked at the jail he complained that he had a medical problem and was taken to the hospital as a precaution. Testing showed that Michael Madsen was 0.21 for his blood alcohol level, which is almost triple the legal limit for driving.
Once deputies and Madsen arrived at the hospital in Los Angeles the doctors did a medical evaluation and then determined that the actor should be kept overnight for observation. At that point Michael was given a citation for the charge and then released to the custody of the hospital where he spent the night. This is twice now that Madsen has been drunk and police have taken notice. In March of this year, not even 6 months ago, Michael Madsen was arrested after there was a physical fight between Madsen and his teenaged son. Police were called and Madsen was arrested at the time, in part because he was drunk and the officers felt charges were warranted. Prosecutors later declined to prosecute the actor, claiming that there was not enough evidence to win a conviction. Hopefully this time the charges will stick so Michael Madsen can finally get the substance abuse treatment it is obvious he really needs.
