The Defendant was stopped for having a tag light out while driving on Walsingham Rd. Upon making contact with the Defendant, the officer noticed the odor of an alcoholic beverage. The Defendant was unsteady as he exited the vehicle and his speech appeared slurred. The officer had the Defendant perform field sobriety exercises. The Defendant did not perform them satisfactorily and was arrested for DUI. The Defendant refused to provide a breath sample. The video camera from the officer’s dash recorded the interaction with the Defendant. Upon review of the video, the Defendant was very cooperative with the officer. The officer had a thick accent which caused the Defendant to ask the officer to repeat certain instructions. The officer became quite rude and confrontational with the Defendant during the course of the investigation. Many of the indicators of impairment listed by the officer could be contributed to the officer’s impatience and accent. The firm reviewed the video with the prosecutor and convinced the state to drop the DUI charge.
DUI & Criminal Division
