The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has just released the results of their September saturation patrol intended to remove DUI drivers from county roads as well as any other traffic violators. According to the Sheriff’s Office, last month’s initiative was held in coordination with Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (M.A.D.D.). The patrols took place on 8 separate occasions, including on Labor Day, and resulted in 27 arrests for DUI, as well as 383 citations for non DUI traffic offenses.
These saturation patrols involve mobile patrols which target well known areas where drivers have been known to be driving under the influence before. The figures given for the number of DUI arrests during these patrols do not include those DUI arrests which are made during ordinary surveillance of driver behavior.
Saturation patrols appear to be more effective than DUI checkpoints, which are used from time to time in and around Tampa and Sarasota and elsewhere in the state. DUI checkpoints are locations where drivers can be stopped at random and checked for DUI. Usually, sobriety tests are used first, then the use of a breathalyzer if DUI is suspected. DUI checkpoints are somewhat controversial as they do not appear to net as many DUI arrests as other methods, such as the saturation patrols. In fact, one study suggested that a single saturation patrol yielded 10 times the number of arrests as a DUI checkpoint. Commentators have pointed out that DUI checkpoint locations are advertised in advance and those people who genuinely do drink and drive simply find another route home.
DUI checkpoints have also been controversial for other reasons. Usually, it is because drivers have been arrested for DUI after misleading observations when drivers have been stopped at the roadside. The Fort Myers News-Press has provided some examples of errors of judgment in Cape Coral, FL. In one incident, a man was handcuffed illegally before being tested for DUI. In another, a man was jailed for 8 hours before being breathalyzed. His BAC was then found to be zero. The city police department has been sued for over $500,000, mostly for false arrests for DUI during DUI checkpoint operations.
Part of the problem is the pressure on police officers to make as many arrests as possible. However, rushing DUI procedures can lead to mistakes in protocol and innocent drivers being arrested on DUI charges which don’t stack up when investigated further by their defense attorneys.
The worst sort of DUI interrogation can lead to physical violence against an alleged drunk driver. Fortunately, this is rare, but last month’s battering of Christina West is an example of the sort of police tactics which should never have been employed as part of a DUI procedure. In that incident Ms West, a 44 year old, slightly built woman, was arrested after allegedly being DUI in Tallahassee. She had apparently driven her vehicle with three passengers into a house. After failing a field sobriety test she was manhandled into a police car where she was found to have slipped out of her handcuffs. She was then beaten so badly that the orbital bone in her face was broken and she also suffered other significant facial injuries.
The incident was, not surprisingly, well publicized in the media, partly because the police behavior was captured on their own dashcam and it now appears that Tallahassee Police Department faces a serious lawsuit against them for misconduct.
Anyone who drinks then drives should be aware that Florida has very tough DUI laws and in many instances police officers who are more than willing to make an arrest with often dubious techniques. If you want to avoid a confrontation with the police, then the best strategy is not to drink and drive. If you are arrested for DUI, whether you have been drinking or not, the examples of some police tactics in Florida demonstrate that you need an aggressive and experienced DUI defense attorney to help you fight your DUI charge.
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