This report about Mesa, AZ police officers arresting people with a 0.0 blood alcohol level for DUI.
A motorcycle cop spotted the truck as Heather drove through the intersection of Baseline Road and Mesa Drive. Not familiar with the truck, she’d failed to flip on her lights. Soon the cop was flipping on his — and they were flashing.
Heather was ordered out of the vehicle and almost immediately handcuffed. She was taken to the Mesa Police Department and charged with both driving under the influence and driving with a blood alcohol content over the legal limit. The truck was searched, then impounded.
Party’s over.
Heather Squires was no different from any of the thousands of people who’ve been charged with DUI this year in Arizona. They drank, they got busted, and now — thanks to the toughest DUI laws in the nation — they can expect jail time, big fines, and an ignition interlock.
Except for one thing.
Heather Squires’ blood alcohol content that night was 0.00. The records prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that she was an exemplary designated driver.
She hadn’t had a drop to drink.
With this report about Sheriff’s Deputies in Wayne County, NY giving drunken illegals the break of all breaks.
According to several police officers who wish to remain anonymous, it has become an unwritten policy of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office to not report illegal aliens to the U.S. Border Patrol when they are taken into custody.
On April 27th of this year, Juan Casarubia-Rendon, age 24, was stopped by Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputies for numerous traffic violations. He was found to be highly intoxicated, with a blood alcohol level of .32%, four times the State threshold for vehicle operation. Juan had no license and no vehicle insurance, something that would have normally called for an arraignment for any other driver.
As is the policy with most area police agencies, the U. S. Border Patrol would have been notified, appeared and placed a “detainer†on Casarubia-Rendon. As soon as he would have been released from jail, or his obligations for his crime under the law, the U.S. Border Patrol would have taken custody of Juan and the process of giving him his legal options, including, but not limited to deportation back to Mexico.
According to police sources, bowing to pressures from area land owners, Mexican migrant workers are being cut breaks by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office.
Ahh, the perks of being a member of the great white hegemony.
As a retired LEO, I’m here to tell you that aggressive DUII tactics are among the worst civil rights abuses that the average citizen might encounter with their local gendarmes on an everyday basis.
Cops are TAUGHT these aggressive tactics. They are taught that their “field sobriety tests”, even if inconclusive, are to be determined to be NOT sufficient cause to stop a DUII investigation, and they are also TAUGHT how to write up these inconclusive results (which are subjective opinions on performance of tests, anyway) so that they support probable cause of DUII.
Since most State laws now (under pressure of withdrawal of highway funding by the Feds) make license suspension mandatory for refusing either the breath test OR the Field Sobriety tests, there is HUGE pressure on the motorist to “comply” with the LEO’s DUII “investigation” (read: pre-arrest procedures).
You can’t win. The DUII cop is going to make that arrest anyway, since it’s no skin off his nose if the case gets trashed by the DA.
My advice is to take the suspension. You can easily get it erased later before it is actually made permanent on your driving record (this will cost you a lot of money for lawyers, though).
So, if stopped, my advice is to be VERY respectful, but decline to do ANY of the Field Sobriety Tests (especially refuse the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus eyeball tracking test), refuse them ALL, then refuse the breath test. Try to do all of this in front of the patrol car camera. Lawyer up at your first opportunity. You will be arrested and your license immediately suspended, but the cop has NO CASE (can’t have a case with no “evidence”), and your lawyer will easily get you out of the charges.
Find out NOW who is a good DUII lawyer, and put their phone number in your wallet on a separate piece of paper with nothing else on it (or get a business card from the lawyer). Booking rules say you MUST be allowed to have those items with you while being booked.
If the cops want to send you to Detox after booking, let them (Detox is a civil procedure, can’t hurt you).
When you get to Detox, tell the admitting person you want to demonstrate your sobriety, and will they call you a taxi, please.
Keep all the paperwork, and make immediate, extensive notes to help your lawyer.
Consider a countersuit and DEFINITELY open an Internal Affairs investigation if you been railroaded like the gal in the post. Your legal defense will get very expensive, very fast, but pay for it now, and try to get the cost back later in a counter-suit.
You can’t afford to have that arrest on your record.
Of course, if you ARE drunk, and it’s your first arrest for DUII, your best choice might be to go with the flow, and take diversion. It will turn out to be cheaper, and your record will be expunged later.