So what happens when a cop stops a driver for DUI — and the driver’s a cop?
Deputy, Officer Argue Over DUI Stop
Ponce cop heard trying to help county sergeant
Ponce Inlet, FL. Nov. 8 — A Ponce Inlet police officer who pulled over an off-duty Volusia County sheriff’s deputy on suspicion of drunken driving last weekend was apparently trying to help his fellow law enforcement officer, an audiotape of the traffic stop reveals.
“(Sheriff’s) Sgt. Greg Miles is going to come and get you,” Officer Chris Selander is heard saying on the tape he made early Sunday morning. “I’m not going to arrest you. You can relax. You know you’ve been drinking probably a little too much. I saw the alcohol in the car. I can smell it.”
A short while later on the 45-minute tape, Selander goes on to say, “You’re a sergeant now. You get to keep your job, and that’s your career.”
But the deputy, Sgt. Kenneth Vickery, still seemed intent on arguing he hadn’t done anything wrong and repeatedly raised Selander’s ire as the pair stood in the 4300 block of South Atlantic Avenue. Vickery, who works in the sheriff’s training division, insisted he hadn’t crossed any lines on the road, hadn’t swerved and wasn’t speeding.
“You ran off the road, and, now, you’re basically calling me a liar,” said Selander, a patrol officer. “I didn’t have to do any of this. You could be sitting in that jail right now. You still can.”…
The conversation continued to switch from calm to arguing.
At one heated moment, Selander said, “You’ll be lucky if you have a job after this. Now, sign the ticket, keep your mouth shut and go home.”
At another angry moment Selander said, “I think you want to go to jail. I’m tired of your attitude. . . . You don’t even act like a police officer. You don’t even act like a sergeant.”…
When all was said and done, Vickery was cited only for an improper lane change.
If it were you driving that car, you’d be facing drunk driving charges — and resisting arrest…after you were released from the hospital.
The post The DUI Double Standard – What happens when a DUI suspect is a cop? appeared first on Law Offices of Taylor and Taylor - DUI Central.