Officer lets drunk driver talk himself into a DUI arrest

Officer Lets Drunk Driver Go Twice, Man Talks Until He Gets a DUI (video)

Sometimes not knowing when to stop can get you in trouble.  When it comes to drinking, not knowing when to stop can definitely get you in trouble if you plan to drive. In the video above, an officer lets drunk driver talk himself into a DUI arrest

When you are already drunk driving, and the officer lets you go once with a warning, instead of a traffic ticket, and then lets you go again by allowing you to walk home and avoid a DUI, and you still keep arguing…. well, not knowing when to stop talking definitely got one man in trouble.

As the video shows, a young man speeding through town was stopped by police for reckless driving (VC 23105).  Portland Police stopped him and the driver admitted to spinning his tires.

The police asked for his license, and the police said there were no signs of impairment, according to the officer.  The officer decided to let him off with a warning.

When the officer returned to return his license to him, things started to turn for the young man.  The driver admitted to three drinks two hours ago.

At that point, assuming that the person may be intoxicated or DUI, the officer instructed him to park his vehicle and walk home.

The driver accused the officer of taking his wallet and escalated the incident.  At that point, the officer started to have the driver perform the driver do the walk and turn test, and during the walk and turn, on the video, the driver said “I’m a little drunk”.  The video shows the driver counting to 10 (instead of taking nine steps), and basically talking himself into a DUI, and piling on the probable cause.

He then admitted to driving drunk many times before, and is charged with a DUI and reckless driving.

Officer lets drunk driver talk himself into a DUI arrest because he didn’t invoke his fifth amendment privilege in a DUI case.  The right to remain silent is available for everyone, and in many cases, it’s better that the person remain silent.  The officer had  been very generous, in both allowing him to slide on a reckless driving or speeding ticket, and also in allowing him to park and walk home, but the driver kept escalating the situation.

Officer lets drunk driver talk himself into a DUI arrest despite statistics showing DUI is dangerous.

The presence of video cameras may have been a factor, but kudos to a patient, reasonable law enforcement officer during this entire stop.

MADD in Oregon has some statistics on Drunk Driving in Oregon for last year (2015):

114 fatal accidents in Oregon where at least one driver had a BAC of 0.08% or above [2]

136 people were killed in Oregon in accidents where at least one driver had a BAC of 0.08% or above [2] 

23 people were killed in Oregon in accidents where at least one driver had a BAC between 0.01% and 0.07% [2] 

159 total deaths caused in Oregon where at least one driver had a BAC of 0.01% or above [2]

If you have questions for our DUI lawyers, contact our firm or call us anytime at (877) 568-2977.