In late 2012 a client of mine was charged with a DWI with a fatality. The police indicated that my client had Red Glassy Eyes and the Odor of an Alcoholic Beverage on his breath. Three SFT (Standard Field Sobriety) test were administered to the Defendant; the Finger to Nose, Standing at Attention, and the Nine Step Walk and Turn. The police claim that positive clues for intoxication resulted from these test. The Defendant also agreed to take a PBT (breath test) which allegedly showed alcohol in his system. The Defendant was arrested and brought for blood testing immediately thereafter. The results of two separate laboratories testing the blood? No alcohol or drugs in the Defendant’s blood. That bears repeating. Zero alcohol in the Defendant’s blood.
As a result of the blood testing done by the Nassau University Medical Center all charges against the Defendant were dismissed by the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
So the question remains. How is it possible for a Nassau County Police Officer to swear that the Defendant had all the signs of intoxication, yet have no alcohol in his system?
Was the officer mistaken, lying, looking for overtime? I don’t know the answer, perhaps we will never know. But what we do know is that just because a Police Officer indicates that a person has Glassy Bloodshot Eyes, the Odor of an Alcoholic Beverage on their Breath, and claims clues of intoxication from Stand Field Sobriety Testing, that doesn’t mean that the person (Defendant) was actually intoxicated. In fact in some cases the Police are 100% wrong, despite the fact that they are trained to detected intoxicated drivers.
Just because a Police Officer swears that a driver is Intoxicated doesn’t make it true. (See the police report and dismissal documents directly below. Published with the consent of the Defendant.)
