You can be charged (in Tennessee) with DUI even if you’re sober, WSMV 4 Investigates reveals
You can be charged (in Tennessee) with DUI even if you’re sober, WSMV 4 Investigates reveals
From Clarksville to Murfreesboro, from Franklin to Goodlettsville, we found sober drivers charged with DUI, and because of a backlog in alcohol and toxicology tests at the TBI, they are forced to wait months for proof of their innocence.
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because of a backlog in alcohol and toxicology tests at the TBI, they are forced to wait months for proof of their innocence.
Christ. In a country where even a charge can set you back in terms of your job and other things that might require a background check, maybe, just maybe, they shouldn't be charged until the tests come back positive?
“(The officer) said, ‘I’d like to do a field sobriety test, do you consent? And I said yes, I do consent, but I’d rather do a breathalyzer. And he said, we don’t do breathalyzer in Rutherford County. We do the blood alcohol test at the station based on your behavior.’”
Never consent to a field sobriety test or anything. Never talk to the cops.
I got arrested and got to spend the night in jail because I shouted for a women who was being given a field sobriety test to shut her fucking mouth and stop incriminating herself.
The cops buddy trucked across 4 lanes of traffic to arrest me for “resisting arrest”.
I was put in “timeout” by a cop because his authority was questioned.
The city formally apologized to me via letter and dropped the “resisting arrest” charges but only after I paid too much for a lawyer and requested the body cam footage be ready for my court date.
Fuck the police, I’ve never had a good experience with a police officer. I’ve never felt safer with a cop in the building.
How long ago was that?
SureSue themoffif you're not beyond the statute of limitations. That's illegal as fuck. If they dropped the charges that quickly they might pay a settlement quick too.Exactly what I was going to say, sue them
That's a federal civil rights violation that the police officer would not be able to get qualified immunity for. Unfortunately the damages would be pretty small.
Here in Australia, there aren't any bullshit field sobriety tests - the breathalyzer just comes out and you get tested. If you blow over, you then wait 15 minutes if you produce a lower reading, before trying again. If you still blow over, you then go to the station to get a proper test done before the police can legally prove anything.
There are obviously freedom-based downsides to mandatory roadside testing, but if the alternative is the kind of shit in this story, then I'm happy with our system here. Never had an issue with it myself... unless we're talking roadside drug testing, which is flawed as fuck, and most of the time produces a positive result the day after, leading to a loss of license. We literally have 'road safety' billboards along our highways plastered with the tagline "get caught long after the high is gone."
Australia is so fucking behind the times in so many ways, it drives me insane.
I believe us yanks are allowed to waive field sobriety tests and request a breathalizer instead.
Depends on where you are.
When I was a kid you could say no at which point they could get a court order to take your blood and test. This was “recommended” to me as a way to get out of you might blow over. The person who recommended this to me was a shitty human.
I don’t think that was actually law but I do know you can decline the field sobriety but then can be forced to breathalyze which while not open for human judgement it is known to be wildly inaccurate. The police can charge you “per se” here which is based solely on the breathalyzer though, so that sucks. That said don’t fucking drink and drive