WINONA, Minn. – A Winona man clamed diplomatic immunity when he was pulled over by police for running a stop sign and turning into a side street in the wrong lane. John Howard Bartz, 53, claimed he couldn’t be arrested because of his “diplomatic status.” Officers didn’t buy it. Bartz was arrested. At the jail house he persisted, saying ge was an “American national” and “being detained illegally.” The curious case began about 1:30 a.m. near Fifth and South Baker streets on the West Side. Police said that Bartz proceeded west on North Baker in the wrong lane. Police finally stopped him in the 950 block of West Third Street. The arresting officer said the man’s speech was slurred, his movements slow, his eyelids heavy, his breath heavy with alcohol. First Bartz refused to step out of his vehicle, police said, and at one point attempted to pull his door shut. Eventually, the officer said, he coaxed Bartz out and placed under arrest. At the jail Bartz refused to submit to a breath test, still claiming diplomatic immunity.
