Prosecutors: Invalid DUI BAC tests in Colorado Springs double

Colorado Springs, CO

The number of flawed Colorado Springs police DUI tests has doubled to 167 since a crime lab audit last year discovered that some blood-alcohol results were inflated, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported.

The Police Department launched internal and external investigations after reporting Dec. 11 that a routine audit revealed errors in 82 initial cases.

El Paso County prosecutor Frederick Stein confirmed the doubling of flawed cases to The Gazette, but he could not say yet what the impact of the erroneous tests might be on prosecution of those criminal cases. He said the district attorney's office hopes to have a report compiling those outcomes within the next two weeks.
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At the time, the department started re-testing about 1,000 blood alcohol test results taken since January 2009, The Gazette reported. Meanwhile, prosecutors contacted individuals in the cases that were based upon the incorrect test results.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigations is conducting the external investigation and the Police Department is conducting its own internal review.

While the department review isn't completed, police spokesman Lt. David Whitlock told The Gazette: "We've narrowed it down to the point where we believe it is likely a human error. We believe very strongly that it’s not an equipment failure or something inherent in the lab itself."

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New York police officers admit protecting their own from DWI

Asbury Park, NJ

A driver speeding through Tarrytown, N.Y. rolled over and struck a fence and guardrail. Another was accused of running a red light before smashing into a Scarsdale police car. A third hit a Greenburgh ambulance, and a fourth rammed into a truck on Interstate 287.

Four accidents involving allegedly drunken drivers within a three-week period is hardly unusual in Westchester. What made these stand out were the drivers: All were off-duty law enforcement officers, and all now face misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated.

At a time when police brass are pushing DWI crackdowns, which have led to a record number of arrests, the recent cluster of crashes allegedly by drunken police officers from Dobbs Ferry, Westchester County and White Plains, plus a county correction officer, has been an official embarrassment and a public eye-opener. However, police say it's not completely surprising, given that many in law enforcement quietly turn a blind eye to drunken off-duty officers when they're stopped.

"If you can get them a ride home and put their car someplace safe, that's what you do," said one central Westchester patrol officer who agreed to speak anonymously. "It's kind of an unwritten rule. You don't jam up another cop unless you have to."

In conversations with 10 police officers who spoke under the condition that their names and departments not be identified, all told The Journal News that off-duty cops are rarely charged with driving while intoxicated unless they were involved in an accident.

"That's a situation that you can't hide," said one officer. "I'm not going to risk my career in a case like that."

Even when they are arrested, law enforcement officers, familiar with the legal system, do what they can to protect themselves. In the recent cases, White Plains Police Officer Joe Zepeda, county Officer Joseph Kraus, Dobbs Ferry Officer Michael Huffman and Correction Officer Patricia Yancy-Johnson all refused to submit to chemical tests that determine blood-alcohol levels, despite knowing that their driver's licenses could be automatically revoked for a year.

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DWI defense lawyers push for new law to make sleeping it off in car not "driving" while intoxicated

Edgewood, NM

At what point did it begin to make sense to the DWI industry that sleeping in a parked car constitutes "driving" while intoxicated?

A group of New Mexico defense attorneys is pushing to change DWI laws after an Edgewood man was recently convicted for DWI even though he wasn't driving.

Fidencio Francia was convicted of DWI a few weeks ago after he was caught by police drunk and sleeping in his truck.

Francia admits he drank, but he insists he did not drive. He lost the case anyway. That has many New Mexicans outraged.

"People should be rewarded, to some degree, for acknowledging the fact that they should not be driving. Even if they made the initial mistake of starting to drive but they realize it," said Ousama Rasheed of the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.

Rasheed says Francia's case is an example of someone who did the right thing but was convicted of DWI anyway. Rasheed now wants to propose a change to DWI laws that would make what Francia did a petty misdemeanor instead.

He proposed a penalty of up to 90 days in jail, a $500 fine and attending a DWI school. However, you would not end up with a DWI on your record.

"Had Dana Pabst slept in his vehicle instead of driving, had Gordon House slept in his vehicle instead of driving, had Lloyd Larson slept in his vehicle instead of driving, that would have been a lot of lives that would have been saved," said Rasheed.

But the DWI Resource Center is absolutely against the proposal. Officials say DWI laws need to stay exactly the way they are.

"When someone's passed out, sleeping in their vehicle, who has the crystal ball to say they're not going to wake up and drive down the road still impaired," said Linda Atkinson.

Rasheed says he's in the process of drafting a bill and finding a state legislator to sponsor it. He expects it to be introduced in the January legislative session.

Missouri Driving While Intoxicated Criminal Defense Lawyers

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"Hungry Eyes" crooner Eric Carmen in the clink for DUI

First off, I take issue with the above headline from E! Online. Hungry Eyes was recorded in 1987, released on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack and peaked at #4 on the charts.

By then, Eric Carmen's best years were behind him. His career peaked over a decade earlier, in 1976, when he left The Raspberries and released "All by Myself" which landed at #2. All by Myself is the song for which Eric Carmen always will be known (and loved?).



Bedford, MA

BEDFORD -- Bedford Municipal Court Judge Peter J. Junkin sentenced Raspberries' lead singer Eric Carmen to 180 days in jail, with 150 days suspended, and a $1,000 fine today after finding him guilty of driving while under the influence of alcohol last September, according to court officials.

Junkin has scheduled Carmen to report to the Solon City Jail at 8 a.m. April 25 to begin his sentence. Carmen is expected to serve until 8 a.m. May 24, court officials said.

Carmen's driver's license also remains suspended until Sept. 9, 2009, with the exception of occupational, medical and probational driving.

Junkin also required Carmen to have installed an ignition interlock system in his SUV, a device designed to prevent someone from driving if intoxicated.

Carmen also will be subject to alcohol testing and has to continue with an alcoholism prevention program he has been attending already.

Junkin also found him guilty of failure to control his vehicle and fined him an additional $150. Junkin dismissed the third charge against Carmen, a blood alcohol charge.

Adding in the $362 in court costs, Carmen paid a total of $1,362 before he left the courthouse, according to Chief Deputy Court Clerk John Garmone.

Carmen had changed his "not guilty" pleas to "no contest" on all three charges before Junkin found him guilty on two of the charges.

On Sept. 9, just before 7 p.m., Carmen crashed his black 2008 Range Rover into a fire hydrant on Chagrin Boulevard in Orange Village.

A blood alcohol test at Bedford Heights Jail later that night showed Carmen's blood alcohol level at .234, almost three times the legal limit of .08.

Orange Village police charged him with operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and failure to control his vehicle.

He had pleaded not guilty to all charges on Sept. 12 through his attorney, his brother Fred Carmen.

In March 2007, Carmen was arrested by Gates Mills police for OVI after driving his Lexus SUV off SOM Center Road there, hitting a mailbox and a sign, then ending up in someone's front yard.

At his 2007 court appearance, Carmen pleaded no contest to the charges. The judge fined him $750 and sentenced him to 30 days in jail, with all but three of those days suspended.

The Raspberries started in Cleveland in 1972 with the Top 5 hit "Go All the Way." Three other Top 40 singles followed.

In 1974, Carmen also launched a successful solo career.

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MADD honors cop accused of making false DUI arrests in a scheme to make extra pay

Chicago, IL

Nobody familiar with the DWI industry should be surprised that MADD would honor a cop accused of making false DWI arrests to log more overtime and make more money. The whole point of the DWI industry is to make more money. This cop made 303 DWI arrests in 18 months. Why would MADD care if some (or all) of those DUI arrests were false arrests?!

Seven federal lawsuits have been filed against a Chicago police officer that allege he made false DUI arrests, used excessive force and harassed gays and lesbians.

On Thursday, four Chicagoans filed lawsuits against Town Hall District Police Officer Richard Fiorito in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Three other people filed lawsuits in February.

All the plaintiffs accuse Fiorito of violating their civil rights by falsifying DUI charges and other traffic violations against them.

Last year, Mothers Against Drunk Driving honored Fiorito for making 313 DUI arrests between Jan. 1, 2007, and June 6, 2008, according to the group's Web site.

Attorney Jon Erickson said Fiorito made up DUI charges in a scheme to earn extra overtime pay.

Fiorito could not be reached for comment.

In some of the lawsuits, the plaintiffs have also said excessive force was used against them, including in a suit filed in February, which alleges Fiorito grabbed Shawn Rauch by the throat in the police station, shoved him against a wall and called him a slur for a homosexual.

Of the cases filed, prosecutors dismissed DUI charges against two plaintiffs, and a jury found another not guilty of DUI. In another case, a judge ruled the officer had no grounds to arrest the plaintiff for DUI, Erickson said.

Jennifer Hoyle, a spokeswoman for the city's Law Department, wrote in an e-mail that the city was reviewing the cases and could not comment on the allegations.

Officials at the city's Independent Police Review Authority, which looks into allegations of excessive force and bias-based verbal abuse by officers, said the authority has received complaints, and they are being investigated.

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Wilmington Police using different technique to bust drunk drivers this holiday season

Wilmington, DE

“They are very effective, they are highly visible, and hopefully accomplish the same goals without having the legal loop holes that you might run into with a DWI checkpoint.”

It is scary that those charged with enforcing the law view the ultimate source of justice in America, the U.S. Constitution, as an impediment to highest law of the land, the U.S. Constitution, as an impediment to justice.

With the holidays quickly approaching and drivers taking to the roads, Wilmington Police are trying to keep the streets safe by stopping impaired drivers. But they are using techniques other than traditional check points.

At first glance it looks like a meeting for a street racing group. But the gathering is actually the beginning of what local law enforcement calls a saturation Patrol.

“We essentially congregate in known DWI routes that DWI offenders typically take; whether or not they're going to or from downtown,” said Corporal Joseph Fitzgerald of the Wilmington Police Department.

A saturation patrol is different from a checkpoint, because law enforcement doesn't stop every car or slow regular traffic. Corporal Fitzgerald said saturation points ultimately work better. “They are very effective, they are highly visible, and hopefully accomplish the same goals without having the legal loop holes that you might run into with a DWI checkpoint,” he said.

Fitzgerald said he finds most DWI violations when impaired drivers speed past him on the road. But it is not always because the driver had too much to drink.

“Driving while impaired does not only apply to any alcohol. It applies to any kind of impairing substance whether it's legal, prescribed, or even illegal,” added Fitzgerald.

He said police step up enforcement around the holidays because people tend to drive impaired more often traveling to and from their celebrations. If you do get a ticket, the penalty could mean fewer gifts, not just this holiday, but future one's as well.

“In addition to your court penalties, your insurance typically goes up 375% if you're convicted of impaired driving,” stated Fitzgerald.

But that's nothing compared to the consequences that could come with an accident if your driving while impaired. “There are just too many negative outcomes that can occur from that. Whether you're arrested, you’re involved in a crash and hurt someone or even kill someone. You're much better in spending $20 and taking a cab,” he said.

Corporal Fitzgerald said in the past the police department has seen fatal accidents related to impaired driving around the holidays. He's hoping that, with increased saturation patrols like Sunday morning, they can prevent that from happening this year.

Sunday’s patrol resulted in five DWI arrests, a possession of marijuana charge, several traffic citations and warnings. Wilmington Police will continue patrols through the holidays.

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Chicago cop John Ardelean indicted In fatal DUI Thanksgiving crash

Chicago, IL

hypocrite
Main Entry: hyp·o·crite
Pronunciation: \ˈhi-pə-ˌkrit\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English ypocrite, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin hypocrita, from Greek hypokritēs actor, hypocrite, from hypokrinesthai
Date: 13th century
1 : a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion
2 : a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings
— hypocrite adjective

Chicago Police Officer John Ardelean was indicted Tuesday on charges of reckless homicide and aggravated DUI in the Thanksgiving 2007 crash that left two men dead.

The Cook County State's Attorney's office announced Tuesday that Ardelean has been indicted on two counts of reckless homicide, a Class 3 Felony, which carries a possible prison sentence of up to five years.

The charges result from the Nov. 22 crash at 2925 N. Damen Ave. that claimed the lives of Miquel Flores, 22, and Erick Lagunas, 21.

A judge had originally dropped the case against Ardelean after witnesses said he did not appear intoxicated and the men in the other car ran a stop sign.

In surveillance video taken from Martini Ranch, Ardelean is seen taking what appears to be several shots.

CBS 2's Pamela Jones reports the State's Attorney's Office won't say why this case is being brought up again now. CBS 2 is told they have had access to the surveillance video from the bar ever since the crash.

Ardelean has also been indicted on four counts of aggravated DUI, a Class 2 Felony, but because there were two fatal victims, it is punishable by up to 28 years, according to a release from the Cook County State's Attorney's office.

Ardelean, 34, will be arraigned on Oct. 1.

After viewing the video in its entirety, Assistant State's Attorney Bob Milan notified the victims' families that he was re-opening the case.


"I'm just ecstatic," Miguel Flores' sister, Nancy Flores, said. "I was happy. I was shaking, I was crying."

In February a judge dropped a criminal case against Ardelean because there wasn't enough evidence. But the attorney for the victim's family claims the state's attorney's office didn't consider this part of the video until now.

"They didn't tell me the truth," attorney Daniel O'Conner said. "They didn't look at the whole tape which would be inexcusable or, worse, they looked at the entire tape and did nothing with what they found. So, either one is terrible."

O'Connor says the tape shows Ardelean drinking a shot with a woman, accepting a bottle from the bartender, and walking out.

But Ardelean's attorney says the tape doesn't show exactly what he was drinking and it wasn't booze.

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Sturgis Rally tally shows fewer drug, DWI arrests

Sturgis, ND

Figures from the South Dakota Highway Patrol indicate drug and drunken driving arrests are down so far at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. But the total number of citations is up over last year.

There were 101 drunken driving arrests as of Monday, compared with 107 at the same point of the 2007 rally. And the patrol reported 95 misdemeanor and felony drug arrests, compared to 113 at the same point last year.

But there were 611 total citations, compared to 471 last year.

Twenty-six injury accidents and two fatalities were listed.

The figures cover the Sturgis, Rapid City, southern Black Hills and Badlands areas.

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No drunken drivers netted in Kansas DUI zone

Topeka, KS

What would the DWI fear mongers at MADD have to say about this? No drunk drivers? According to MADD, the roads were teaming with them.

Twenty-seven vehicles were stopped in north Shawnee County on early Saturday during a check lane seeking to stop intoxicated motorists.
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However, no motorists were arrested in connection with driving under the influence of alcohol, said a statement issued by Cpl. Michael Wright of the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office.

The DUI lane was conducted on US-75 at the southbound exit ramp at N.W. 35th, Wright said. Deputies conducted the check lane.

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DWI prosecution abuse: Disabled Viet Nam vet crossing street on electric scooter prosecuted for DWI

Portland, OR

This ridiculous example of prosecutorial stupidity is also a classic example of adding insult to injury.

Vietnam veteran John Wayne Ruff struggled to Multnomah County Circuit Court last Friday, March 14, to defend himself against a five-year-old driving under the influence (DUI) charge, originally received while crossing the street on his electric handicapped scooter.

"This is ridiculous. The judge dismissed the case five years ago," Ruff, 60, exclaimed in frustration. His friend, Doug Thompson, pushed him across SW 4th, toward the courthouse, in a wheeled walker. "And I did it myself, without a public defender. I just told him the truth."

Ruff, who says he contracted Agent Orange Syndrome while serving in Vietnam, has trouble enunciating his words. He says the cops who arrested him may have mistaken his slurred speech for intoxication. Nevertheless, when he appeared for arraignment before Judge Michael J. McShane in November 2003, McShane asked him what kind of car he had been driving.

"So I told him, I wasn't driving anything," Ruff said. "I was on an electric motor scooter, and there was one block that I couldn't ride [in the street] so I tried to go around across the street."

McShane threw the case out. But four months later, in February 2004, the apparently undeterred district attorney's office reissued the charges against Ruff, and got a different judge to issue a warrant for his arrest. The DA sent Ruff the warrant in the mail, but apparently no one made any efforts to arrest the man, despite the fact that Ruff's arresting officers knew where he was living because they had helped get him home with his scooter after his first arrest. More >>

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Driver arrested for driving under the influence after head-on crash with patrol car

Chicago, IL

A Chicago police officer was injured late Friday after his squad car was struck by a suspected drunken driver.

The collision happened at about 10 p.m. on the city's south side. A sport utility vehicle hit the police car head-on, police said. The squad car's hood was badly damaged.

The driver of the SUV was not injured, according to police. The officer was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.
Drunken driving charges have been filed against the SUV's driver.

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LA cop batters handcuffed woman suspected of DWI, leaves her in pool of blood

Shreveport, LA

Police chief Henry Whitehorn said Wednesday the district attorney and the Justice Department will investigate the case of a woman who is seen in a police department video lying in a pool of blood in an interrogation room. Angela Garbarino, 42, said she was beaten after her Nov. 17 arrest on a drunk driving charge.

Wiley Willis, the police officer who was fired Feb. 5 in connection with the case, said through his attorney that Garbarino fell.

Excerpts from a police video tape show Garbarino struggling with an officer in the interrogation room. But the camera was turned off for a time. When it was turned back on, Garbarino is seen on the floor in a pool of blood.

"I had an opportunity to view the tape. I was outraged at what I observed," Whitehorn said at a news conference at police headquarters. "I immediately ordered an internal affairs investigation. That investigation determined that numerous policy violations had occurred."

Garbarino said Willis, 30, tried to force her to take a breath test against her will and that he beat her after turning off the camera.

Willis' lawyer, Eron Brainard, was not immediately available for comment when called Wednesday by The Associated Press. He told The (Shreveport) Times that Willis did not beat Garbarino.

"After her refusal to take the breath test, officer Willis turned off and saved the videotape in accordance with normal practice," Brainard said in a story published Wednesday. "The suspect again tried to leave the room. In the process of (Willis) stopping her, she fell and injured herself."

Paramedics took her to LSU Hospital in Shreveport, where she was treated for a broken nose, a fractured cheek bone and bruises on various parts of her body. Two of her teeth were knocked out.

Garbarino had been taken into custody for DWI testing after someone saw her crash her vehicle into other cars in a casino parking garage and a light pole on a city street, according to police.

Whitehorn said it is police policy for an officer to turn off the videotape of a sobriety test when testing is over and the officer is preparing to book the offender.

Policy will now be changed to where two police officers are in the room at all times, authorities said.

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K-State assistant suspended after DUI arrest

Kansas City, MO

Kansas State associate men’s basketball coach Dalonte Hill, arrested early Thursday morning on suspicion of driving under the influence, will not be on the bench Saturday when the No. 22 Wildcats play at Missouri.

The suspension was announced Thursday by athletic director Tim Weiser.

“I want to apologize for this incident,” Hill said in a prepared statement. “I am embarrassed for the attention this has brought to our program. I regret this situation taking away any attention from our team’s accomplishments and from our preparation for Saturday’s game with Missouri.”

Hill was pulled over for a routine check around 2 a.m. on McCall Road, according to Pottawatomie County Sheriff Greg Riat.

That was just hours after No. 22 Kansas State upset No. 2 Kansas 84-75 at Bramlage Coliseum.

“During a stop, a deputy developed probable cause to believe he (Hill) was under the influence,” Riat said.

Hill was later released after posting $500 bond.

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Man paralyzed after crash, charged with DWI

Massapequa Park, NY

As if being left "completely paralyzed" in a drunk driving crash isn't punishment enough...

A Massapequa Park man who had been driving drunk was left completely paralyzed Monday night after his pickup truck smashed into a parked car then hit the steps of a building, the police said.

Joseph Fichtl, 63, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI).

He was hospitalized in critical condition with what the police described as "total body paralysis" and he will be arraigned on the DWI charge as soon as his medical condition permits, the police said. More >>

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Holiday DWI / DUI arrest totals...

Here are the claimed totals for a few states.

Arizona: 2,800+ Holiday DUI arrests statewide

Minnesota: 3,350 motorists tagged for DWI

North Carolina: 4,367 Holiday DWI arrests

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Arizona cops arrest 2,300 drivers for DUI in Holiday crackdown

Phoenix, AZ

In a statewide effort, Arizona cops have stopped 32,000 drivers, arrested 2,300 for DUI, and issued 9,500 non-DUI citations.

Authorities participating in a statewide holiday drunken driving task force say they've now made more than 2,300 DUI arrests since the effort began last month.

On Friday alone, 182 drivers were booked on drunken driving charges.

The Governor's Office of Highway Safety coordinates the effort, which involves saturation patrols, DUI checkpoints and youth alcohol enforcement using officers from dozens of law enforcement agencies.

Authorities have stopped more than 32,000 drivers and issued more than 9,500 citations for driving offenses besides DUI.

Under a new state law, DUI offenders face a minimum 10 day jail term, fines and license suspensions and must install an ignition interlock device in their vehicles.

The task force continues through New Year's Day.

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DWI/DUI cops say, "Don't make us your designated driver."

Anne Arundel, MD

The Anne Arundel, MD Police come up with a great slogan for DWI/DUI prevention and favor saturation patrols over sobriety checkpoints.

No sobriety checkpoints are planned, but police still intend to arrest plenty of drunk drivers in Anne Arundel this New Year's Eve.

"We will have extra officers on duty, both uniformed and plain clothes," said Officer Hal Dalton, a city police spokesman. County officers said they will also beef up patrols throughout the extended holiday weekend.

Cpl. Mark Shawkey, a county police spokesman, said saturation patrols are just as effective, if not more so than checkpoints. They utilize several officers in patrol vehicles to spread out through a larger geographical area.

"Whereas, checkpoints focus on one main thoroughfare and are more limited in their scope," he said. More >>

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