Standing by her child. Kim Zolciak-Biermann came to her daughter Ariana Biermann‘s defense following her recent arrest.
“Ariana was involved in a minor fender bender. When police arrived on the scene, the investigating officer immediately initiated an investigation for DUI of alcohol,” Zolciak-Biermann, 44, wrote via Instagram Story on Tuesday, August 16. “Despite Ariana’s constant invocation that she was upset and anxious from the minor accident, the officer incorrectly concluded she was impaired. That was not the case.”
In the lengthy post, the reality star claimed that her daughter, 20, was “not impaired by any substance, including alcohol or marijuana” at the time of the arrest.
“Since she was being cooperative and honest, she admitted to consuming marijuana the day before, meaning over 24 hours prior to her contact with the law,” the Real Housewives of Atlanta alum continued. “In addition, the arresting officer, as evidenced by his own police report, charged Ariana with impairment by alcohol. She wholly denies these allegations and intends to fight these charges because she is not guilty of them.”
She concluded: “We appreciate the general public allowing this case to be tried on its merits, and not rhetoric or incorrect conclusions.”
Zolciak-Biermann’s social media message comes after Ariana was arrested on Saturday, August 13, following her involvement in a car crash. In a statement to Us Weekly, the Georgia native’s attorney denied that his client was drinking and driving.
“Ariana was involved in a minor fender bender. When police arrived on scene, the investigating officer immediately initiated an investigation for DUI,” her attorney, Justin Spizman, said at the time. “Despite Ariana’s constant invocation that she was upset and anxious from the minor accident, the officer incorrectly concluded she was impaired by alcohol. That was not the case. She wholly denies these allegations and intends to fight these charges because she is not guilty of them.”
According to a police report obtained by Us, an officer claimed Ariana did not appear to be sober when he arrived at the scene. “I advised [Ariana] that I could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage on her breath. She stated the odor was possibly from her clothing,” he detailed. “Ariana stated she had smoked a THC vape pen the night before but did not drink.”
He continued: “I conducted field sobriety evaluations with Ariana and observed signs of impairment. I observed that she had a noticeable sway during the evaluations,” adding that a fellow officer conducted a Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test and “observed four out of six clues.”
The police officer also claimed that Ariana refused to provide “a breath sample to the preliminary breath test.”
Ariana was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, underage possession/purchase of alcohol and misdemeanor improper/erratic lane change. She was released on bail that same day. Her boyfriend, Hudson McLeroy, was also booked on alcohol-related charges and released as well.
