Man blows 0.00 on breathalyzer, gets arrested for DWI

Austin has a bad reputation on bogus DUI arrests and unconstitutional searches.

 

This is why you never admit to having any drinks.

 

This exact thing happened to me -- special DWI weekend and one of the task force cops pulled me over for speeding. He almost immediately asked me to get out of the car and kept asking me over and over if I had been drinking (answer: NO). He put me through the standard coordination test and didn't say much -- I asked to take a breath test, but he said he didn't have one in his car. Then he tells me that I am clearly intoxicated and pulls out the cuffs. Once we got downtown they gave the breathalyzer -- I took the test 5 times all 0.00 -- then I took the blood test also clean.

I had to sit in jail all night until the judge came in next morning which was lucky because I was arrested on a Friday and he normally didn't come in until Monday -- he was there for the task force weekend festivities -- he dismissed everything 'lack of evidence'. You still pay for it though car was impounded ($250ish) and they left a lights on and ruined the battery. The only nice thing the cop did was get rid of the ticket for my trouble.

 

Alright, here's the problem with these balance tests. The average person is going to struggle because balance is tied in with your core. If you're not young you're at a disadvantage. If you're not young and overweight your at a big disadvantage.

I had to take one of these tests like 8 years ago [hadn't had a drink in 3+ hours and was good but admitted I had had a couple much earlier in the night] and ended up passing but I remember thinking thank God I'm in shape cuz otherwise it would have been really easy to fail.

 

Dang, gets my blood flowing just hearing you say it. Did you at least file a complaint?
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Not enough info in the report to go on. An arrest on a .00 DWI is rare but on the other hand there are plenty of drugs that you can take that impair you as much or more than alcohol. Not all of them are tested for. Bars, synthetics, molly, MJ, whatever. I've tried intoxication manslaughter cases where there was no or little alcohol in the defendant's system.

 

I think this is best. A number of years ago I had a minor accident and when the cops came, they asked
me if I had any drinks. Without too much thought I told the truth and said: "two beers". It had been several hrs before and I had had a big Mexican meal afterwards. I did refuse the field sobriety test as I felt very shaken up after the accident. At the station I blew 0.00 and was let go. Was in CA at a conference.

After the breathalyzer the cop said: "you're pupils are dialated". I laughed and said: "good try". The cop laughed and then drove me back to my hotel which was closeby!!

 

My friend got a ticket for jaywalking in Austin.

 

So I assume the drugs show up in some blood test?

0.00 breath test + 100% clean blood test + prosecutor completely dropping the case = not enough info? What else you think could be missing?

 

I got a ticket for jaywalking in Dallas!

 

After reading your post and seeing the video I totally agree with you, a bigger person is going to be at a disadvantage. I also think that upon getting stopped by police, some people might get nervous/scared and fail for that as well. Everybody reacts differently in these situations, some people can't shut up while others can hardly speak a word. Hope this guy gets compensated, the video said he spent 2days in jail even though he passed the breath test...
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Yep. I'm naturally uncoordinated and have a very poor sense of equilibrium. Also, I could definitely see myself getting nervous if I'm being pulled over. I'd definitely fail most sobriety tests sober.

 

They only test for certain suspected drugs, not every drug known to mankind. A DRE would have helped identify what was suspected, but I don't know that one was used. I don't know the delay between driving and the blood (or breath) test, but that might make a difference, too.

All that said, according to the news article there didn't seem to be much evidence to go on, in light of the test results and in spite of the SFSTs. I fully understand the dismissal.

 

APD - Presumed Guilty Until Proven Innocent?

Take em in and sort it out later. I feel for you, KingCheetah. You got a bad deal there.

 

Why were you speeding, though?

 

Most people would dead sober because most people do not practice balancing on a regular basis. My mom is in her 50's and would fall within seconds so what does that prove? Nothing but an inability to balance.

I hope this guy wins something.

 

Clearly, he was DWB. Throw the book at him!

I sometimes try to defend police officers, as I think they can get a bad rap. But garbage like this makes it really difficult.

 

I once got a ticket for smoking a cigarette at a concert, while Method Man was smoking pot on stage!