MODESTO, CA – Witness testimony from a police officer, in a jury trial here in Stanislaus County Superior Court Tuesday, found an accused was arrested for suspicion of a DUI/driving under the influence despite passing sobriety tests and presenting a BAC level under 0.08.
The accused is on trial for the death of two people in a vehicular accident, with a third charge of a DUI.
The witness Tuesday was the officer who reported to the accident site, and who made the decision to arrest the accused.
During the testimony, the defense asked for the specific details of the four examinations that took place on the scene that day: the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, the nine heel-to-toe steps, the one leg stand task, and the preliminary alcohol screening test (PAS).
According to the officer, the accused did not sway, did not misstep, and did not make enough errors within this examination, according to police guidelines, to conclude a DUI case.
According to the officer, the only error the accused made on the one-leg test was raising her arms above six inches. The defense then asked if, according to police academy training, this was enough reason to assume illegal inebriation. The officer responded, “No.”
Two preliminary alcohol screenings were done at the scene, according to the prosecution. The first test resulted in a BAC of 0.071, and the second 0.068. After all of these examinations the officer who responded to the scene still decided to arrest the accused on suspicion of a DUI.
Within the prosecution’s questioning, the officer acknowledged two more factors within his decision were the accused’s bloodshot eyes, and the faint scent of alcohol on her breath. There was some discussion about the probability of the alcohol dissipating before the officer reported on the scene.
The jury trial was set to proceed throughout the week.
