Client keeps licence despite police lies
RE came to us having been charged with drink driving. She was stationary at a set of traffic lights when a car hit her from behind. The other driver made off from the scene so RE called the police to report the hit and run.
When police arrived, the officer claimed that RE was drunk. He said that she was unsteady on her feet to the point her boyfriend was having to physically hold her up. He said her eyes were glazed over and that she was unable to speak without slurring her words. She was arrested and breath tested at the police station. The result showed that she was slightly over the limit with an alcohol level of 42µg in 100ml of breath.
At court, RE denied being drunk and disputed the police officer’s description of her. She argued that she had been careful about how much alcohol she consumed and did not believe she would be over the limit.
In preparation for her trial, we instructed a forensic scientist to review the evidence and provide a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) report. To do this, we obtained a copy of the cocktail menu from the bar RE had visited that evening along with witness evidence of what drinks she had consumed. The expert found that RE’s most likely alcohol level was zero. The expert also found that the alcohol RE had drunk could never have put her over the drink driving limit.
We also obtained the police officer’s body worn video of RE’s arrest. That showed – very clearly – that the police officer was not being honest when he described RE. Far from being held up by her boyfriend, the video showed that they were not even touching one another. RE could be heard speaking clearly and normally; none of her speech was slurred. The video footage was so good that we could see RE’s eyes were perfectly normal rather than being glazed over as the officer said.
On the day of trial, the police officer was forced to explain why he had said things about RE that were plainly not true. He was unable to give a satisfactory explanation.
Having heard the evidence, the magistrates decided that RE’s drink must have been spiked without her knowledge and decided not to disqualify her or impose any penalty points. She thus retains her clean driving licence.
If you are facing a court appearance for drink driving, or any motoring offence, call us today on 020 8242 4440 for expert advice from solicitors who know how to keep you on the road.