DUI Cop and Defense Attorney work together to get suspect's dog adopted

Earlier this week I wrote a blog about the embattled Utah DUI Trooper who has been fired and is facing several lawsuits for bogus DUI arrests.  As a DUI Defense Attorney I find her actions and behavior completely appalling.  However this type of Cop is on one side of the spectrum, there are plenty other officers who I respect and admire on the other end.  Here is a story about a Seattle Police Officer I know and respect going beyond his "official duties."

You can check out the article here.  But basically the DUI Officer here in Seattle arrested man accused of DUI earlier in the week.  The suspect had a German shepherd dog in his vehicle.  Normally this wouldn't be an issue I suspect.  I have represented several people who have been arrested with animals in their vehicle.  In those cases the arresting Officers allowed my clients to make arrangements to have their animals picked up.  Or in one case the arresting Officer took the dog with my client to the precinct.  Processed my client for DUI, and then released her and her dog afterwards.  

But in this particular case the suspect was getting booked into custody not only because of the DUI but also because of a warrant for his arrest out of California.  Unfortunately for his dog he not only was getting booked into custody, but it also appears he going to be extradited back to California to address this warrant.  So there was nowhere for this dog to go.  I guess the guy didnt have any family or friends here in Seattle, and nobody could be contacted in California.  I'm not sure if there is a policy in the Seattle Police Department on what to do in this type of situation.  But imagine there are some Officers who would just drop the dog off at the animal shelter and be done with it, and who can really blame them.  I mean it is probably not in their official duties to babysit animals of people they arrest. 

But not his particular Officer.  As the article describes he went way beyond his duties in this particular case.  After the suspect was arrested he allowed the dog to sit in the backseat with her owner.  After the suspect was arrested he took the dog to the Animal Shelter.  But he didn't stop there.  He posted a message on his own personal Facebook about the dog, and asked if anyone knew of any families wishing to adopt. Additionally he got in touch with the suspect's defense attorney to check in and try to find a new home for this lovely animal.

As both a dog lover, and a DUI defense Attorney this story really tugs at my heart strings.  I have a dog who my family loves dearly.  If anything were to happen to me or my family I would hope someone would have the heart to look after my dog, and try to find a new home for him.  The fact that this particular Officer did this after an arrest when he could have just went home and never thought twice about it shows the type of character and compassion he has. 

My law firm has had several cases with this particular Officer and I have always found his work to be very thorough and well prepared.  But what has always impressed me his the integrity he seems to have when dealing with these type of cases and with me.  Additionally of all the Officers I deal with on a regular basis he is one of the few who treats my clients with respect, and seems to understand that many of the people he arrests simply made a mistake and he doesn't crucify them or he isn't a jerk to them afterwards.  In my opinion he is a stand up guy and this story just reaffirms what I have always thought of him. 

You see not all stories I blog about are negative when he comes to law enforcement :)

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Matthew A. Leyba is a DUI lawyer in Seattle, WA.  His practice focuses on representing those accused of DUI and other alcohol related offenses.  If you have been arrested contact my office immediately to speak with an experienced attorney to discuss your rights and options.  

Utah Trooper faces lawsuit for making bogus DUI arrests

In case you don't follow my other blog dealing with National DUI news and Information, I want to post my thoughts here on Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Steed and some issues that are occurring back in the great State of Utah.  

If you don't know I'm originally from Salt Lake City, Utah (Go Utes!).  So I follow news from Utah pretty regularly.  As I noted above, I have posted updates about Trooper Steed on my other DUI blog, but want to discuss it here today.

In case you don't know Trooper Steed is a Trooper with the Utah Highway Patrol.  During her 10 years with that Department she built the reputation as the best DUI cop in Utah.  As of today she is out of work and facing a lawsuit.  So what happened to her?  Someone who was seen as a rising star in the law enforcement.  Someone who her supervisors described as having an "uncanny ability to detect drunk drivers."  Someone who in 2009 as a member of the DUI squad shattered the record for most DUI arrests in Utah, more than double the number made by another other Utah Highway Patrol member in the history of the department.  

One word: Accountability, or I guess the lack thereof.  Lets be honest being a police officer has to be one heck of job.  Long hours.  In some cases low pay.  The general public has a certain disdain or distrust for you.  Defense Attorneys are always criticizing and challenging your work.  If you mess up it's on the front page of the news.  I know several officers here in Seattle, and although I'm a Defense Attorney I certainly can respect the work they do.  It seems to me to be like a thankless job for the most part.  

But I think the reason law enforcement has such a bad rap is because of what the general public views as a lack of accountability.  Think about it.  If a cop pulls someone over, makes an arrest, documents certain statements or observations of the suspect.  Who is to say this really happened?  I know cops sign an arrest report under penalty of perjury, and blah blah blah.  But many law enforcement agencies still do not have audio or video capabilities.  Even if the agency does have that capability, not all the officers use it.  Or the cameras are out of position.  Or the mic is not working, or in some cases left off.  Or some other excuse is made.

I can't tell you how many times I have represented someone who adamantly denies something the arresting officer is saying happened.  And how do you challenge that?  You can question the officer.  But if they made something up, or fabricated something, or even embellished it a little they are for the most part not going to deviate from that.  You can have the client testify, but in the end who is a Judge, or Jury going to find more reliable most times.  The cop.  So it is always a difficult position to address when it is one persons word against another.  And the other person happens to be a cop.

But every now and then a cop is caught in a lie, or an inconsistency and everything changes.  Such is the case with Trooper Steed.  As I wrote above she was a rising star with the DUI squad in the Utah Highway Patrol.  Shattering records for arrests, winning awards, etc.  But in the end what derailed her career is the lack of accountability that exists with such officers.  And probably her greed to become known as the Best DUI cop in Utah.  

And it all started with a routine motion to suppress evidence where she admitted on the stand that she left her mic off while on a DUI arrest.  To her credit she admitted to this.  I have had cases in the past where certain officers will swear up and down the mic was malfunctioning or the video was lost in magic land.  I never ceases to amaze me the elaborate tails these cops will weave just to avoid answering a simple question.  But when Steed did this her credibility instantly came under question.

You see there was a long standing rumor in Utah that Steed was fabricating observations she made on her DUI arrests.  Ridiculous things like flat out saying a person was impaired when a breath or blood test would show .000.  Making a DUI arrest when there was absolutely no evidence, and then just flat out making things up in the arrest report.  And nobody was ever the wiser, because there was no way to document what really happened, when it was just her word against the suspect.  

However like all things eventually the truth comes out and many of her DUI arrests were flat out dismissed or not filed due to her penchant for "stretching the truth."  In fact in 2010 a Prosecutor flat out told every Defense Attorney in Utah, and every news outlet that he would not prosecutor any cases where Steed was the primary officer, and the only evidence that existed were her observations.  But think about all the people she falsely arrested prior to this slip up in 2010.  

I can't fathom going through that.  Having the stigma of a DUI driver.  Hiring an attorney.  Going to court endless and stating your innocence and not having the Prosecutor, the Judge, or the very law enforcement agency who is supposed to protect you, believe your story.  That is why I do what I do.  So I can help people in these situations.  Thankfully to those attorneys in Utah, her truth stretching was uncovered and justice is being done.    

In case your interested here is the Steed article.  Read up.  

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Matthew A. Leyba is a DUI Lawyer in Seattle, WA.  His practice focuses on representing those accused of DUI and other alcohol related offenses.         

How high is too high? Seattle KIRO tests pot smoking drivers for impairment

Now that Marijuana has been legalized in Seattle it was only a matter of time before someone decided to do a "wet lab" in Seattle with Marijuana and publicize the results and findings.  If you don't know what a "wet lab" is.  Its a training that police officers do to help with alcohol impairment detection.  Basically they go to a location, and some volunteers get drunk.  Then the Officers administer the field sobriety tests to the impaired individuals just to get an idea of what it is like investigating people out in the field.

The reason I'm talking about this wet lab stuff is recently a local news station here in Seattle decided to run a little experiment on Green DUIs.  They got some volunteers together and had them drive in a closed obstacle course completely sober.  No alcohol, no marijuana.  Then they had these people smoke a little marijuana, drive some more, then smoke some, then drive again.  I don't know a lot about marijuana since I don't smoke it.  But the name of the strand was pretty cool.  It was called blueberry train wreck.  Each time after the volunteers drove, their blood was taken, and their results from the driving were noted.  Also the news station had a drug recognition expert there to determine in the field the level of impairment.

Some of the results and observations from the "study" were pretty interesting.  Remember the legal limit for Marijuana in your system in Washington State is 5 nanograms.  During the experiment there were three drivers.  They were tested before driving the course the first time.  They were then given marijuana and asked to drive the course a second time.  Their results were compared, along with the different levels of marijuana after a blood test.  In some cases they were given even more marijuana and asked to drive the course 3 to 4 times.

The first driver was a medical marijuana patient who smoked heavily before the experiment.  Before she even started the experiment she was at 16 nanograms from her daily smoking.  So FYI if you smoke a lot it takes a long time for you to get Marijuana out of your system and you're most likely operating at the legal driving limit on a daily basis.  I'm talking to you heavy pot users.  Surprisingly though the instructor said her driving was fine.  It was until she got to 1.6 grams that she started to show signs of trouble.

The second driver was a casual pot smoker who smoked on the weekends.  The initial test showed no marijuana in his system.  He was then given three tenths gram of marijuana to smoke.  His driving was actually pretty good, not revealing any significant decrease in motor skills.  He was then given nine tenths a gram and continued to drive.  At the end of the experiment he was 26 nanograms.  Towards the end of his driving he showed more and more problems driving.  At one point almost hitting a photographer.

The third driver was an occasional pot smoker.  He also showed no marijuana in his system during the initial test.  He was given the first batch of marijuana and again did not show any decrease in motor skills, although it was noted he was driving a little slow.  However like the second driver the more he was given, the more problems in the driving occurred.  At the end of the experiment his level was 21 nanograms.  

So what do I take from these results.  Well to be honest this just affirms the same opinions I had of this so called legal limit when the 502 was initially passed.  It is too low.

First if you're a daily pot smoker, you operate at the so called legal limit every day.  Meaning every time you drive chances are you're over the legal limit and subject to an arrest for a Green DUI.

Secondly based on the driving of the second and third drivers when you're at the so called legal limit there is not much of a decrease in motor skills.  It was not until those individuals were at 4 times the legal limit they showed obvious signs of impairment and difficulty driving.

Lastly, and probably the most interesting is the daily pot smoker, even at higher levels she did not show any signs of impairment from the driving.  In fact the instructor said her driving was fine, and she was borderline whether she would even get pulled over.

If you want to check out the article and see the footage then you can watch, Its titled, How High is Too High

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Matthew Leyba is a DUI Attorney in Seattle, WA.  His practice focuses on representing those accused of DUI and other related offenses.