Field sobriety tests

Police officers are constantly on the lookout for drivers whom they can charge with a DUI in Los Angeles. So the last thing that impaired motorists usually want to do is to call attention to themselves and their driving. But in two recent cases, that’s just what happened—once accidentally and once deliberately.

Pedro S. Garcia of White Plains, New York, allegedly gained the notice two officers by almost hitting them. They had been directing traffic at the scene of a medical emergency when they saw a driver accelerate towards them, stopping just before he reached them.

When the cops investigated, they found that Garcia smelled like alcohol, had watery eyes and was speaking slowly and deliberately. When they gave him a field sobriety test, he flunked. The officers charged Garcia with DUI and hauled him off to jail, but he was soon released on a $220 bond.

In Hopkinsville, Kentucky, however, the police didn’t have to go searching for the intoxicated driver; he came right to them and literally asked to be arrested. Christopher Stewart, age 26, drove to the police station in this small town on June 16th and almost hit a parked police cruiser. He then got out of his vehicle and told officers that he was ready to go to jail for DUI.

Stewart told police that he drank a pint of alcohol before coming to visit them, and he then tried to drink a bottle (closed) of fuel injector cleaning fluid. So the cops obliged the young man by charging him as he requested. They didn’t say whether there was a particular motive for his unusual behavior.

Do you or a family member need insight from a qualified Los Angeles DUI attorney? Contact Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers to set up your free consultation.

Los Angeles DUI stakeholders – police, attorneys on both sides, judges, criminal defendants, and victims of DUI tragedies alike – don’t know what to make of a Twitter user who goes by the handle “Mr. Checkpoint.”

Also known as Sennett Devermont, the 25-year old Santa Monican has taken to calling himself “the drinking crowd’s Batman,” according to a recent article in the LA Weekly.

Devermont has over 42,000 followers on Twitter and an additional 20,000 text subscribers. His free cell phone app, Mr. Checkpoint, has been downloaded thousands of times. Why?

Devermont reveals the locations of upcoming Southern California DUI checkpoints.

Unsurprisingly, representatives from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) have been less than thrilled with Devermont’s mission. The Group’s Director of Communications, Anna Duerr, said “We don’t want apps out there that allow people to evade checkpoints.” MADD’s Regional Director for Los Angeles, Pat Rillera, told the LA Weekly: “While we support the publication of checkpoints as a deterrent to drunk driving, sites like Mr. Checkpoint alert drunk drivers so they can evade arrest. It’s not meant as a positive.”

Devermont disagrees. He’s found support from among many people who passionately want to punish DUI drivers and make streets safer. Defenders believe this app can deter people who are on the bubble from driving — that is, to encourage tipsy folks to take a cab, find a designated driver or walk home.

Devermont usually starts sending out his alerts during the evening, based on information provided by Sheriff and Police Departments in Los Angeles and San Diego. The app does have a box — which you must check — wherein you agree that you will not drive under the influence.

Devermont said he came up with the idea while enrolled at San Diego State University. Police pulled him over after a party. He was 18 at the time. Police forced him to go through the paces of several field sobriety tests. (These can include the finger to the nose test; the stand on one leg test; the count backwards by threes test and the horizontal gaze test).

Police told Devermont that he failed, but he hadn’t consumed any alcohol! When he blew into a breathalyzer, sure enough, he scored a 0.00 BAC. Still, he told the LA Weekly “it was humiliating and intimidating. I felt violated. After that, I looked up my rights.”

Do you need help understanding and protecting your rights after a Los Angeles DUI arrest? Please get in touch with Harvard Law School educated attorney, Michael Kraut, of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers, for a thorough, free consultation.

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