I am often attacked on social media for purportedly “keeping drunk drivers on the road.” It’s a little tiring but also consistent with the new more toxic world of social media. It seems some people are simply unwilling to turn their minds to the fact that innocent people are regularly arrested for DUI. This week we’re going to look at some of the tremendously stupid wrongful DUI arrests recently reported. In one case, my close friend Sarah Schielke secured another significant settlement for one her clients that has helped pay for her building. In another, the police have sued the driver they wrongly arrested. In the third the police admitted on camera that the off-duty firefighter was sober but they arrested him for DUI anyway.
Let’s start with Harris’ case.
Harris Elias
Harris Elias has been arrested not once but twice by the police in Colorado for impaired driving and in both cases he was stone-cold sober. You can view video from the body cam of the investigating officer, William Gates, in which the officer claims there was an “overwhelming odour of liquor” on Mr. Elias. He was arrested, taken to a police detachment, breath tested and he blew zero. Then they took his blood and sent it off to a lab. No drugs were found.
It turns out, like in BC, Colorado police officers receive certain recognition for the number of DUI arrests they make and trooper Gates had been given awards by Mothers Against Drunk Driving. He was held out as an exemplary officer, having conducted hundreds of arrest, received special training and in fact trained many other officers in the detection and investigation of DUI drivers.
But it was all a lie. So often we see the claim of officers that there is an overwhelming odour of liquor. It’s one of the things that can’t be captured on camera and can’t be collected as evidence. For as long as there has been DUI cases, courts have accepted this evidence without question.
It turns out there are plenty of dishonest police officers.
In this particular case, moments before his disciplinary hearing, trooper Gates quit the force and therefore avoided a conduct record. He will likely get a similar job in a new jurisdiction.
The Loveland Police Department agreed to pay Mr. Elias $400,000 for the wrongful arrest and agreed that it would not come with a confidentiality clause. I think they got off easy.
Schielke is a great friend and fantastic advocate. She built a stand-alone building for her firm which has a plaque that explains it was paid for by settlements and awards in lawsuits she has advanced against the local police department. Now that the plaque made the news, it has become a local tourist attraction.
Wrongful arrests for DUI are very common but it’s uncommon that people go public with their experience. Many people are embarrassed even if they are innocent. Others are worried about retaliation by the police. As I alluded above, Mr. Elias faced a second arrest with the same facts. That case has yet to settle.
Tayvin Galankis
I think that the Newton Police in Iowa should quickly write a big settlement cheque to Tayvin Galanakis who was wrongly arrested for DUI.
Mr. Galanakis was 19 when he was pulled over. He was sober and explained that. The police alleged that he had smelled of liquor, had slurred speech and bloodshot watery eyes. Again, the only reason we know the police are lying is because of the video.
He was arrested, taken to a police station and he blew zero. Like Mr. Elias, he was then drug tested. He explained to the officer that he is an athlete and doesn’t use drugs knowing he is drug tested as an athlete. The drug test also came back zero.
Mr. Galanakis obtained the video and posted it on Facebook with his own commentary. One can understand how angry he must have been. He also filed a lawsuit.
In response the Newton police countersued claiming that Mr. Galanakis essentially hurt their feelings with the commentary he gave on the video.
I hasten to note that Mr. Galanakis would not have been harmed if the Newton police had not wrongly arrested him. The damage of a wrongful arrest is significant for most people. Suing someone who has been wrongly arrested because they are hurt and lash out is about as offensive as you can get.
We’ll be watching this one. As I say, if I were counsel for the Newton police, I would advise my client to apologize and settle.
But for video, these people might have been charged and convicted of DUI. This causes me to wonder how many people in North America have been wrongly investigated, wrongly charged, wrongly convicted of DUI. For most of the history of DUI enforcement there was no video and in BC it is rare that there is video. Still, courts convicted people based only on the word of officers who allege slurred speech and an odour of liquor.
This, in turn, causes me to wonder if there is something wrong with the entire process. Courts, it seems, lack the tools to do the job of determining innocence or guilt. Still, nobody seems to be addressing this. The damage for innocent people, even when exonerated, can’t be undone.
Thomas the firefighter
A 30-year firefighter referred to only as “Thomas” was arrested by Denton Country Sheriff, when stopped in this Texas community. Thomas is, understandably, concerned about retribution by the police which is why he doesn’t want his full name used.
The body cam video captures the police commenting roadside that Thomas was sober. Nevertheless, he was arrested and, as is common in Texas, had his blood taken.
He had to pay $1000 bail. His dog was handed over to animal control. Meanwhile, his father was on his deathbed as he went through this ordeal.
When it came time to go to court, the evidence the police seized had magically disappeared. The charges were not approved.
No surprise to Thomas, who doesn’t drink.
As miserable as it is to face a wrongful arrest, in this case the arrest itself triggered an internal conduct review by the regulator of fire fighters which ended Thomas’ career. He explained of the conduct review “It’s hard because they look at you differently. People think you must have done something wrong to get arrested,” Thomas said. ”But I haven’t had a drink in 30 years!”
As I say, the damage for innocent people, even when exonerated, can’t be undone.
I always wonder about the motivation of people who zealously give the police a blanket pass or assume that the police are all great people doing a perfect job. This type of attitude essentially encourages police to make wrongful arrests.
Of course the people who want to attack me on social media are not interested in educating themselves about the risk of being wrongfully arrested for DUI. Until it happens to them.
