Wednesday of this week I was pulled
over by a police officer on patrol. The
incident is illustrative of how absolutely easy it is for someone to get
arrested for a DWI.
Here is how it happened...
I worked late Wednesday night meeting
with a client and started on my way home.
I stopped before arriving home and had something quick to eat around
8pm. It should be noted that I had
absolutely nothing to drink outside of a Coca-Cola.
I had been having trouble having an
officer accept service on a subpoena for an ALR hearing for one of my
clients. My process server had been
given the run-around by the officer multiple times and he was clearly trying to
avoid being served. At one point he told
my process server to meet him at the substation where he worked, but then
refused to come out once he was there.
While this is not common among police officers, it sometimes
happens. Since the officer refused to
come out from behind the counter to accept service, his supervisor signed the
subpoena for him. My process server put
“refused to sign” where his signature is supposed to be.
DPS indicated that there was a minor
problem with the subpoena with some required language that needed to be
included. I was instructed to amend the
subpoena and send it certified mail to the officer to the substation. Because I wanted to comply and do everything
possible to ensure the subpoena would be accepted because I have a strong
suspicion the officer does not plan to attend the ALR hearing (thus meaning my
client will retain his driving license privileges), I went to the police
substation myself to personally deliver the subpoena to the officer. I went during the day, and was told he was
not there, but to come back at 10pm that night when he started his shift.
At 9:30 pm I began driving with the
subpoena to the substation in an attempt to deliver it to the officer. To get to the substation I had to drive
through downtown Dallas. As I was doing
so, I had to drive down a few streets with very low lighting. At some point or another, I turned my high
beams on. I’m not sure when.
As I turned and entered one of the
streets in downtown Dallas, I came across a large Greyhound bus parked in an
outside lane letting passengers on and off.
Behind the bus a police patrol car was parked where the officer was
clearly inputting something on his in-dash computer. Because the lane was blocked, I simply
rerouted, used my turn signal, and began driving in the inside lane to avoid
the stall.
I could see the officer pull out
immediately as I was driving by and knew even before his lights came on that I
was going to be pulled over. At the time
I honestly didn’t know why. My fiancee,
Annie, was in the car with me and was holding my iPad with a map to where the
police station was located. I was
glancing down at the map while driving to look at directions. Honestly, I figured I was being pulled over
for “texting while driving.” My brother
told me recently he just got at a ticket in Houston for “texting while driving”
and I assumed I was being pulled over for the same.
The events that follow are entirely
true, and not in anyway contrived because of my personal interest in this
encounter and how it proceeded.
The worst words out of the officers
mouth were, “sir, how much have YOU been drinking tonight?” I was stunned. I looked at Annie, I looked back at the
officer, and I replied “none.” I was
still in my suit from being in court all day, with my tie a bit loosened. I’m sure I looked tired, as it had been a
long day. I had been to two different
courts in separate counties that day and had been working continuously since
that morning. I’m sure my suit might
have been bit a bit crumpled. I recently
had elective vision correction surgery, and my eyes since have been continually
bloodshot in recovery. From experience,
I was sure he would take these factors standing alone to be signs of
intoxication. From his perspective, I’m
sure I looked like a businessman who had been at a happy hour with co-workers,
probably having dinner afterwards where I had continued drinking. Again, this was not the case.
After I told him I had not been
drinking, he squinted his eyes at me scrutinizing my response for any hint of
intoxication. He asked for my driver’s
license and insurance, while simultaneously asking me where I was coming
from. I knew this to be the “divided
attention” test, where he tries to see how I react to his request and my
ability to multi-task in getting my information to him. I simply replied “home,” and I gave him my
driver’s license and insurance. At this
point he still had not told me why I had been pulled over, and I was actually
beginning to wonder when he would tell me what the reason was.
After telling him I was coming from my
house, he made a very contrived laugh like what I was saying was absolutely
crazy. He knew given my location that I
was far from where I lived. He pointed
out how far I was from where I lived, and he asked if I was lost. I surmised he thought I was lying by telling
him where I was coming from, as he obviously assumed I was either coming from a
bar or restaurant where I had been drinking.
I swore to him that I was coming from my house and that what I was
saying was the truth. At this point he started to become frustrated. Stonewalled, he looked at me like a stern
professor trying to ascertain whether a student had been caught cheating on a
test.
He looked at my driver’s license and
my insurance with his flashlight, and then questioned me a second time,
“exactly how much have you had to drink tonight, sir?” Without answering because I almost thought
this was a joke, I looked at Annie to see if she was as shocked as I was. Again, I replied “none.” At this point the officer was leaning almost inside of my car through the
window. While odd, I could tell he was
clearly doing this to try and ascertain whether he could detect any odor of
alcohol in my breath when I answered his question. After again telling him that I had not been
drinking, he pursed his lips and furrowed his brow again in frustrated disgust. I knew he was hoping I would change my
answer.
He waited for a few seconds to see if
my answer would change, and when it did not, he asked me if I had ever been
arrested for anything in the past. I
knew he wanted to know if I had been ever arrested for DWI before. Literally before I could answer “no” to his
question, he was walking back to his patrol car to run my criminal history
though his computer. After a few
minutes, he came back to my car and returned my license and insurance. After he did so, he held both items in his
hand before letting go of them, and asked me a final time, “are YOU SURE you’ve
had NOTHING to drink tonight?” I was
floored.
At this point the officer looked like
a 3-year old child in a candy store that had just been told by his parents that
he couldn’t have his favorite piece of candy.
He looked frustrated and disheartened, and it appeared he wanted to make
one final attempt to obtain his favorite piece of candy despite repeatedly being
told he couldn’t. He was making one last
plea in hopes that he would get the answer he wanted. I again replied “no, officer, I am sorry.”
He then let go of my driver’s license
and insurance, but was clearly upset by his inability to catch me in a lie of
some sort. He then made a comment,
almost more to himself than to me, muttering in an incredulous tone, “I
could’ve sworn you’d had SOMETHING to drink tonight.” He looked completely befuddled at how he
could be so wrong. I then replied, “I am
sorry to disappoint you officer, but I assure you that I have not.”
He then started to proceed back to his
patrol car. Only then did I finally ask
what he pulled me over for. He told me
that I had my high beams on. I had
totally forgotten that they were on, as the street that I was driving on was
very well lit and it was not discernible to me (or to Annie) that my brights
had been on.
I then told the officer my intention
of trying to find the police substation to serve a police officer with a
subpoena because I was having trouble doing so.
He scoffed at my remark, stating how “we don’t play that game here in
Dallas. We always sign our
subpoenas.” I assured him that was not
the case for my particular situation, and his eyes lit up like I had deeply
offended his own integrity. He even then
offered to personally follow me to the substation to assist me with serving the
subpoena on the officer. I thanked him,
but told him that wouldn’t be necessary.
As I was leaving I was pretty shocked
at the events that transpired. I have
been representing individuals for DWI charges in counties all around Texas
since being first being licensed to practice law. I’ve told people countless times just how
easy it is for someone to be arrested for DWI.
Most who haven’t been through the process do not believe me (those who
have usually are well aware).
I remarked to Annie as we were driving
off how I was 110% sure that had I had ANYTHING to drink that night, even one
beer a couple of hours before, I would’ve been placed under arrest and I would
have been on my way to jail. There is
absolutely no doubt in my mind this is true.
The officer at no point was concerned
with any traffic violation that I had committed. His only point of focus was whether I had
been drinking. From his very first
question it was abundantly clear that there was only one thing on his mind:
making a DWI arrest. From his first
question to his last, it was clear that was his only focus. Had it not been, he wouldn’t have been as
dejected as he was at the end of our encounter in muttering to himself, “I
could’ve sworn you’d had SOMETHING to drink tonight.”
The moral of the story is this. People do not think they will arrested for
DWI until they are charged with one.
Almost all of my clients are shocked that it happens to them. Invariably people always ask me at parties,
etc. what they should do when being pulled over. I have told countless people how easy it is
for a police officer to make a DWI arrest.
In my case, the officer observed factors that were completely unrelated
to alcohol consumption. He saw bloodshot
eyes, a person driving in an unfamiliar part of the city, a driver with high
beams on, and slightly rumpled clothing...and in his mind he had already made
up his mind from the initial observation that I had been drinking and that an
investigation was warranted.
I am also not too proud to say that
for some reason I was nervous during the entire encounter. I remember my heart beating rapidly during
his questioning, and I’m sure I appeared nervous. I’m sure I appeared nervous because I
was. Even though I am very aware of my
rights, and stress them to people all the time, I know I still appeared
nervous. Again, had I been drinking, the
officer would have assuredly associated this with alcohol consumption.
So...
Please remember in the future...
DO NOT DRIVE DRUNK! But if you are pulled over and find that you
are under suspicion for DWI, say as little as possible. Be polite and courteous...AND...REFUSE ALL
FIELD SOBRIETY AND ALL CHEMICAL TESTS! And, most importantly, call me at
214.702.2275.
Hi. I’m Designer of Blog Magic. I’m CEO/Founder of ThemeXpose. I’m Creative Art Director, Web Designer, UI/UX Designer, Interaction Designer, Industrial Designer, Web Developer, Business Enthusiast, StartUp Enthusiast, Speaker, Writer and Photographer. Inspired to make things looks better.
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