Posted by WA-Hal on March 02, 2010 at 00:01:46 from (208.81.157.90):
In Reply to: Another cop story posted by tlak on March 01, 2010 at 03:35:24:
Cops respond to things that are out of the ordinary. And pulling over to the side of a freeway to change drivers is out of the ordinary. I would guess that at first, he was just checking to see if you were having trouble, and if he would need to help you get your vehicle to a safer location.
But then when he contacted you, he smelled something unusual. I suppose it might be possible to mistake the hand sanitizer odor for that of some kind of liquor. I would wonder if there is more to the story than what you put in your post--like were you asked to perform physical tests and/or were you asked some questions? My guess is that something else besides the strange odor and where you pulled over made the officer decide that he wanted you to perform a breathalyzer test. I am sure that such a test costs the agency money, and also am sure that the officer would have to carefully document his use of the machine and the reagent used. If the officer didn't think that there was a good chance that a breathalyzer test would reveal that you had been drinking, I doubt that he would have asked you to do it.
In my state, an officer has to have probable cause that the suspect has committed the offenses of DWI or physical control in order to ask a suspect to blow on the breathalyzer. And the suspect has the right to refuse the test, however if they do, there is an automatic license suspension. Probable cause more or less means the level of information that makes a reasonable trained officer believe that the suspect is likely to have committed the offense. Usually that would include the perception of odors, maybe the physical appearance of the driver, usually how well the driver performs physical tests the officer has been trained to give, and any other observations the officer has made, like how the vehicle had been driven, or where it came to rest.
Most officers have also been trained that you NEVER, ever let someone who you believe might be impaired by alcohol or drugs drive away after you have contacted them. Why? Civil liability that might involve the officer's department as well as personal civil liability. Most cops don't want to lose their houses...or get reprimanded in some way. And most cops I have known wanted to do the "right thing" in handling all situations.
I am glad you chose to cooperate with the officer in completing the breathalyzer test--from what you wrote, you passed the test and were sent on your way without a citation or whatever they call a ticket in that area. If you had chosen not to cooperate, the outcome of the situation might have been very different--my guess is that you probably would have been booked into jail, since you were from out of state. And if their laws are the same as my state's, your driver's license would probably have been suspended through a reciprocal agreement with your home state. You saved yourself a whole lot of problems by cooperating, especially when you KNEW that you had not been drinking and would certainly pass the test.
The officer was just doing his job, and being very careful and diligent. My guess is that he has seen some drunk drivers and the damage they caused in his time as an officer. And he also used a tool that lots of officers do not have available to them in their cars. In many areas, an officer would have needed to take you to the station to perform a breathalyzer test. The way he handled it sounds pretty easy and probably pretty fast.
My wife uses that hand sanitizer stuff a lot. I will tell her about your situation and suggest that she not use the sanitizer in the car.
Good luck, although it sounds like you already had a bunch of pretty good luck. I hope this gives you another perspective on that particular incident.
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