Texas man blows 0.00, arrested for DUI anyway

[talisman]

Back in 2013, Texas resident Larry Davis ran either a red light or stop sign (reports vary) in his Buick in the city of Austin. Despite his insistence that he had had only one drink, he was put in handcuffs and arrested for driving while intoxicated. Then, when he was given a Breathalyzer test by the AustinPolice Department, he blew a 0.00. Nonetheless, as KVUE reports, Mr. Davis spent the night in jail.

While at the station, Mr. Davis agreed to give a blood sample as well, to prove he was not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol. The results would later come back 100% negative. Davis’ attorney, Daniel Betts, told KVUE, “My reaction was just shock that this happened."

The Austin Police Department stands by the arrest, saying they believed Davis showed signs of impairment, that while standing on one leg, he “swayed,” and “needed his arms for balance.” They also suggested that he could have been on marijuana, a drug that wouldn’t necessarily show up in a test. The APD said they’re going by a “take-no-chances” policy. That being said, they did acknowledge how unusual it is that Davis was arrested despite registering a zero on his breath test.

The Statesman reports that people, including Davis’ attorney, Mr. Betts, have characterized Austin PD’s drunken driving arrests as “overzealous.” They noted back in 2011, that Austin’s Travis County has, “dismissed a higher percentage of drunken driving cases than other major Texas counties -- in part because prosecutors said police filed weak charges or prosecutors allowed suspects plead to other crimes."

As for Larry Davis, he will now spend the next few months getting his arrest record wiped clean. In addition to that, he will file a grievance against the Austin Police Department and the officer who arrested him. KVUE notes that as they started to investigate the manner, Travis County prosecutors dismissed the case completely.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/oddnews/man-blows-0-00-on-breathalyzer--gets-arrested-for-dwi-003450614.html

[crapstang]

LOL. "Sobriety" tests.

[SMKR]

Wow

[GrayStangGT]

I would be expecting them to cover all my lawyer expenses, plus a little extra for their incompetence that interfered with my life.

[Broncojohnny]

This never happens, we all know that people aren't charged with DUI for no good reason. 03bluballsgt said so.

[helosailor]

I'd have 6th St renamed Scott Blvd before it was all over.

[Broncojohnny]

Here is a better one, more shit that just never happens.

http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/california-town-shaken-as-police-officers-arrested

California town shaken as police officers arrested

KING CITY, Calif. (AP) — A California farming town was grappling Wednesday with a profound violation of trust after learning the acting police chief and a handful of officers were charged with selling or giving away the impounded cars of poor Hispanic residents and other crimes.

The misgivings had been building for some time. Investigators heard people — many unable to speak English — complain that police were taking their cars and money, and there was nothing they could do about it.

"I'm not at all surprised by the arrests, I'm just surprised there weren't more charges," restaurateur Vivian Villa said Wednesday in Spanish while sizzling a pan of beef in preparation for the lunch rush. "Now maybe some of them are going to feel what we feel when they target us."

Later in the day, Villa held a meeting in her little restaurant where about a dozen community members spoke out against police abuse and corruption.

Latinos account for nearly 90 percent of the community of 13,000 people tucked among fields of tomatoes, strawberries and lettuce along the Salinas River, 150 miles southeast of San Francisco.

Farm mechanics Francisco Mendez and Alfonso Perez, stopping at a taco stand before heading into work, both described being stopped frequently by police for having tinted windows or broken tail lights.

"It seems like they just want a reason to pull you over," Mendez said.

Tuesday's arrests, which also included a former police chief, came after a six-month probe of the police department launched in September when a visiting investigator — there to check out a homicide — heard from numerous sources that the community didn't trust its police department.

By this week, authorities said they had enough evidence to arrest a total of six people linked to the department for a variety of crimes ranging from bribery to making criminal threats. They were all quickly released on bail.

"Ordinary citizens, again and again, told us they didn't trust the police," said acting chief assistant Monterey County District Attorney Terry Spitz. "There are more investigations underway."

Tow shop owner Brian Miller, his brother acting police chief Bruce Miller and Sgt. Bobby Carillo were scheduled to be arraigned Monday on bribery charges after authorities said vehicles impounded from Hispanic immigrants were funneled to the tow yard then sold or given away.

Prosecutors said an undetermined number of vehicles were sold or given away for free when the owners couldn't pay fees to reclaim them. Two people at Miller's Towing in King City refused comment.

Former Chief Dominic David Baldiviez and Mario Alonso Mottu Sr. were set to be arraigned March 6 for embezzlement of a city-owned Crown Victoria. Officer Jaime Andrade, accused of possession of an assault weapon and illegal storage of a firearm, and officer Mark Allen Baker, accused of making criminal threats, are also slated for a March 6 arraignment.

Bruce Miller said the charges were baseless, and his family had received death threats since prosecutors disclosed details of the case. Messages for Baldiviez and Brian Miller were not immediately returned. A man who answered the phone at a listing for Baker hung up when asked about the case.

Andrade said he had not obtained an attorney. He said hopefully, the truth would come out soon and "things will be cleared up."

City Manager Michael Powers said all but Mottu had been placed on paid leave during the investigation prior to their arrests, and that he hopes to announce a new, interim police chief on Thursday.

Fixing King City's sense of well-being is a bigger challenge.

"Obviously no one should be targeted because of race, but recent immigrants are at something of a disadvantage," Powers said. "They already fear the police. It makes them easy prey."

Powers said a community meeting would be held in two weeks to try to resolve concerns of angry citizens and those worried about the depleted police force, where 10 of the 17 sworn positions were held by Latinos.

State Sen. Bill Monning, whose district includes King City, said he was "incensed and outraged," and thanked the FBI and local authorities for their ongoing pressure.

"While I hope this is an isolated incident, I fear it is not," he said. "There continues to be situations throughout the state where the immigrant workforce is subjugated to tyranny of those abusing their authority."

County Supervisor Simon Salinas said it's going to take community oriented policing to get the town to trust authorities again.

"It's certainly going to be a black eye for King City," Salinas said.

Complaints of misconduct have been raised during the past few years in this historic, agricultural city where John Steinbeck's father settled in 1890s and met his wife. With wide streets, historic buildings and old oaks, parts of the city haven't changed much since Steinbeck wrote of King City in parts of Mice and Men and To a God Unknown.

But some said they are now afraid in the city.

"I'm not sure who is taking care of the town," said San Lorenzo Liquors store owner Myukng Hong who reopened Wednesday after closing early the night before after learning of the arrests.

At Leyva's Tow Yard, which police often bypassed with impounded cars, George Oliveros said many people in the community were aware of the investigation for months.

"In King City, a lot of people really try to stay away from the police," he said. "Cops aren't really helping the people, they focus on helping themselves."

[2011GT]

I've done the sobriety test once. I was completely sober and I hardly was able to stand on one leg and do the foot to foot thing. Only thing I passed probably was the eye test. Then the cop said I poured the booze out the door. I explained that was just water from my a/c system leaking on the asphalt. Geez

[SS Junk]

I've done the sobriety test once. I was completely sober and I hardly was able to stand on one leg and do the foot to foot thing.

I was in Keene, TX and ran a stop sign. Got pulled over and the cop stood there and swore I was drinking yet refused to give me a sobriety test. He kept insisting the car smelled like alcohol. I had drank a grape gatorade just minutes before the stop and the dumbfuck couldn't distinguish between that and alcohol. I finally demanded he give me a sobriety test, he refused, gave me a verbal warning for the stop sign. This is the same city where just a few years earlier the chief of police shot his own finger off while cleaning his gun. Winners.

[racrguy]

Why do we still take the word of officers? More and more they're proving to be untrustworthy, or at best just as trustworthy as the rest of the population, which is to say not at all.

[Baron Von Crowder]

I got stopped one night coming home from a really late night at work, after a few really long days. I was tired, cop stopped me for suspicion of DWI. I asked what that meant, and after asking me a few more questions about if I had been drinking, where I had been, etc, he said I was driving slower than the speed limit and being overly cautious. It was bullshit, but there I was. I had to do a field sobriety test, that I thought went fine, but he said I failed. He kept asking how much I had to drink, over and over again. He didnt have a breathalyzer in his car, so we had to wait for a supervisor to arrive. I blew a zero. Twice.

[talisman]

I got stopped one night coming home from a really late night at work, after a few really long days. I was tired, cop stopped me for suspicion of DWI. I asked what that meant, and after asking me a few more questions about if I had been drinking, where I had been, etc, he said I was driving slower than the speed limit and being overly cautious. It was bullshit, but there I was. I had to do a field sobriety test, that I thought went fine, but he said I failed. He kept asking how much I had to drink, over and over again. He didnt have a breathalyzer in his car, so we had to wait for a supervisor to arrive. I blew a zero. Twice.

His Supervisors name was Zero?

[Forever_frost]

I've wondered how it works in situations like me. If I am told to get out and do a sobriety test, I'm going to skew it all to hell. I have a cane so the stand on one leg thing doesn't work. I have neurological damage so the alphabet thing and going heel to toe isn't going to work. Outside of a breathalyzer test, I'm not really thinking of a way I can be checked

[Baron Von Crowder]

His Supervisors name was Zero?

That's Officer Zero to you, pal.

[DON SVO]

That's Officer Zero to you, pal.

Your story reminds me of a good friend of mine's DUI incident. His dumb ass came out to Sherlocks to throw darts with a head cold. He took 2 doses of Nyquil while there and had a single beer. Long story short, he gets pulled over. He blew under the limit and wanted to fight it.

Him and his attorney watch the video where the cop asks him why he's chewing gum. "Oh, is it illegal to chew gum now?" Officer asks him to get out of the car and he complies. Officer asks him to spit out the gum and he asks, "Why? So you can give me a ticket for littering?" Officer laughs and asks him to perform a field sobriety test which he failed miserably. Up until viewing the video, he also doesn't remember being a complete smart ass to the cop, so that didn't help matters.

After watching the video him and his attorney felt that a plea bargain was in order and he accepted a DUI charge.