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I'm leaving a call with another Deputy behind me, and a drunk prominant business owner almost takes me out (T-bone style) with his 2008 hummer. I hit my brakes hard and the deputy behind me almost takes out my rear end due to no fault of his own. The hummer keeps going and I hit my lights and siren. He keeps driving (normal) for several blocks. Finally after 3 police cars are behind him with lights and siren (and it's night time) he pulls over. He gets out and almost falls down. At this point we find out who he is. He's also a big political supporter of local elected officials. First off I don't care and will go down fighting but I will not cut breaks just because of political pressure.
While telling him he failed the field sobriety and that he will be going to the Sheriff's Office with me, he asks can he call this big wig, or how about this big wig, and at this point I get a little P.O'd and tell him when gets to jail he will be allowed a phone call and at that time he may call whom ever he wishes. He then tells me, you know I don't appreciate that one bit. I tell him thats fine and thats his right but that he asked about making calls and I advised him of when and where he could do so. Once I put the cuffs on and put him in the back of the car he lightened up alot and became apoligetic (sp?)
We get to the station and I have him in our intoxilyzer room, I proceed with all that and that paperwork and he blows a .196
I put him in one of our detention rooms in the admin building while I prepare his booking report for the jail. I get a call from a "big wig" hey so what's the protocal does he have to be booked in he's my neighbor, is there something maybe we can do. I explain no since this is a misdemeanor because it's his first one (within a 5yr period, his 4th in his lifetime) that I could release him on a summons arrest rather than booking but that I always book for DUI because in reality this is the only time they will do in jail. The big wig agreed and said hey I know it's your call and thats fine if thats what you do. Kind of hesitated on the phone waiting for me to change my mind and when I just went silent he said, ok, well I'll just let his wife know he will need to bond out. Then I found out (cause I'm not a big or frequent DUI'er) that there is a preset $500 bond for DUI so he pays $100 to a bondsman and he's out of jail. So they are only in jail long enough to process (don't even get changed over into oranges) and the bondsman is waiting on them up front at central already. So after realizing this I decided well, I might as well make brownie points since I'm the only one going to pay for booking him (in terms of having to do a booking report) so I decided to let him go on summons. After finishing his mountain of DUI paperwork, I have another Deputy look over it to make sure I didn't miss anything we realize I never did his interview which is time stamped BEFORE putting him on the intoxilyzer. What does this mean, that the prosecutor would never accept this. I understand why because a defense lawyer would eat it up, and a judge would throw it out so fast you'd wonder if court even started yet. So I go outside retrieve this guy who is waiting on his ride. Give him his drivers license back took back the DUI paperwork I had given him, told him it was a bad dream with a lesson about driving drunk and that in the morning when he wakes up never D&D again. He was very very appreciative, couldn't stop shaking my hand and high tailed it out.
Now I'm stuck with 3hrs worth of arrest time and paperwork because I forgot one page in the step process, not to mention I had big wigs calling. It got me to thinking, all this crap for a freakin misdemeanor that will never get this guy jail time anyways, only fines and he definately has the money to pay. Because he knows people he will get his drivers license re-instated at his license hearing in 15 days, so other than some money in his pocket, what did I accomplish NOTHING. I got a drunk off the street for the night. I could have done that by making him call a ride right there on the side of the road to pick up him and his truck, and saved me the heart ache. So then I talked to a judge that I'm related to about it and he said, until they hit their 4th DUI in a 5yr period they will not see jail time, also the jail time is mandatory and it's only 48hrs. You have to pile them up to like number 6-7 in a 5yr period before they will see a jail cell.
So what the hell is the motivation of doing a DUI? It seems this law is written for all the rich lushes, judges, business people and big wigs who are likely to be arrested for DUI if arrested for anything. When the state takes DUI's seriously then I will, I said that before and still decided the other night I would do one. I shredded up my Intoxilyzer card that night, I don't remember my number and don't need to. I will never do another DUI. It's like an infraction rather than criminal. It's like doing hours worth of paperwork for running a stop sign, I mean really why bother, get him off the road for the night and move on.
While telling him he failed the field sobriety and that he will be going to the Sheriff's Office with me, he asks can he call this big wig, or how about this big wig, and at this point I get a little P.O'd and tell him when gets to jail he will be allowed a phone call and at that time he may call whom ever he wishes. He then tells me, you know I don't appreciate that one bit. I tell him thats fine and thats his right but that he asked about making calls and I advised him of when and where he could do so. Once I put the cuffs on and put him in the back of the car he lightened up alot and became apoligetic (sp?)
We get to the station and I have him in our intoxilyzer room, I proceed with all that and that paperwork and he blows a .196
I put him in one of our detention rooms in the admin building while I prepare his booking report for the jail. I get a call from a "big wig" hey so what's the protocal does he have to be booked in he's my neighbor, is there something maybe we can do. I explain no since this is a misdemeanor because it's his first one (within a 5yr period, his 4th in his lifetime) that I could release him on a summons arrest rather than booking but that I always book for DUI because in reality this is the only time they will do in jail. The big wig agreed and said hey I know it's your call and thats fine if thats what you do. Kind of hesitated on the phone waiting for me to change my mind and when I just went silent he said, ok, well I'll just let his wife know he will need to bond out. Then I found out (cause I'm not a big or frequent DUI'er) that there is a preset $500 bond for DUI so he pays $100 to a bondsman and he's out of jail. So they are only in jail long enough to process (don't even get changed over into oranges) and the bondsman is waiting on them up front at central already. So after realizing this I decided well, I might as well make brownie points since I'm the only one going to pay for booking him (in terms of having to do a booking report) so I decided to let him go on summons. After finishing his mountain of DUI paperwork, I have another Deputy look over it to make sure I didn't miss anything we realize I never did his interview which is time stamped BEFORE putting him on the intoxilyzer. What does this mean, that the prosecutor would never accept this. I understand why because a defense lawyer would eat it up, and a judge would throw it out so fast you'd wonder if court even started yet. So I go outside retrieve this guy who is waiting on his ride. Give him his drivers license back took back the DUI paperwork I had given him, told him it was a bad dream with a lesson about driving drunk and that in the morning when he wakes up never D&D again. He was very very appreciative, couldn't stop shaking my hand and high tailed it out.
Now I'm stuck with 3hrs worth of arrest time and paperwork because I forgot one page in the step process, not to mention I had big wigs calling. It got me to thinking, all this crap for a freakin misdemeanor that will never get this guy jail time anyways, only fines and he definately has the money to pay. Because he knows people he will get his drivers license re-instated at his license hearing in 15 days, so other than some money in his pocket, what did I accomplish NOTHING. I got a drunk off the street for the night. I could have done that by making him call a ride right there on the side of the road to pick up him and his truck, and saved me the heart ache. So then I talked to a judge that I'm related to about it and he said, until they hit their 4th DUI in a 5yr period they will not see jail time, also the jail time is mandatory and it's only 48hrs. You have to pile them up to like number 6-7 in a 5yr period before they will see a jail cell.
So what the hell is the motivation of doing a DUI? It seems this law is written for all the rich lushes, judges, business people and big wigs who are likely to be arrested for DUI if arrested for anything. When the state takes DUI's seriously then I will, I said that before and still decided the other night I would do one. I shredded up my Intoxilyzer card that night, I don't remember my number and don't need to. I will never do another DUI. It's like an infraction rather than criminal. It's like doing hours worth of paperwork for running a stop sign, I mean really why bother, get him off the road for the night and move on.
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