6.08.2009

Seattle Traffic Lawyer | Cop Gets Pass for DUI

It's funny how many police officers can talk out of both sides of their face. For example, in one instance they can be complete blowhards, immovable on any issue, willing to acknowledge any lenience whatsoever for a suspected criminal. And then they realize their suspected criminal is a fellow police officer, and everything changes. You don't hear about it often (my guess is because it doesn't get reported that often - and it is highly likely that it just doesn't happen that often), but when it does, as a Seattle traffic attorney, it makes your skin crawl if for no other reason than I have a laundry list of clients that if just allowed to walk home or get a ride (or even drive home because they weren't actually drunk) that would have been the end of it.

It gets even more interesting when the prosecutor's office gets in the game, although the article I grabbed this story from makes it appear as though they tried their best (although with the facts it makes it hard to understand how they lost this case).

The story I'm referring to comes from Roseville California, where a Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputy was given a walk after he was stopped for DUI. You can read the full story here, but I'll give you some of the details and let you think about this case for yourself.

The deputy was driving erratically when he was pulled over. Upon being pulled over he was questioned and asked to participate in field sobriety tests, which he failed. After that, he was given a portable breath test, where he blew .16, twice the legal limit. After that, he repeatedly apologized to the officers and asked them to give him a break. And you know what, they did. They drove him home, dropped him off, and left it alone. He was only charged with DUI when a local news station picked up the story and broke it to the public.

With those facts, which are failed sobriety tests, a PBT of .16, and an pseudo admission, the prosecutor couldn't convince a jury he was guilty of DUI (might be something to said about the quality of the DUI lawyer, but it might also be the effort of the prosecutor's office). The jury hung, the case was dismissed, and the prosecutor's office has decided not to refile. I guess sometimes it just pays to be a cop.

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