PITTSBURGH—A self-described community activist running an underdog campaign for Pittsburgh mayor has waived his right to a preliminary hearing on a drunken driving charge.

Defense attorney Cory Ricci says 36-year-old Abdula Jamal Richardson plans to "take responsibility" for his actions, likely through a diversionary program that could bring probation and a chance to expunge his record without a guilty plea.

Police arrested Richardson about 3 a.m. April 3, saying they found him slumped over the wheel of a still-running minivan.

Police say Richardson—who is black like the three officers involved in his arrest—berated officers for being "subservient to the white man." Richardson initially called the charges a "feeble attempt to discredit me" that day, before apologizing hours later and saying he planned to plead guilty.

Richardson called Wednesday's court appearance "a bump in the road."