Some would say that you should be on your best behavior when getting pulled over by the police, especially if the potential charge is DUI. But a woman from the Chicago suburb of Cicero did not follow this advice. As a matter of fact, when the car was slow to leave a red light, going slower than the posted minimum speed, and straddling the lanes, the police stopped the car. Since there was a strong smell of alcohol, the officer asked the driver to do some field sobriety tests. According to police, she failed these and was then told she was being arrested. She refused the breathalyzer, and then proceeded to verbally abuse the arresting officer. This was also followed by name dropping of other officers in her community that she was friends with. After a detour to a hospital to check out a previous shoulder injury she complained about, she was booked. While attempting to take her mug shot, she performed vulgar hand gestures, ultimately being captured on film giving police the middle finger. According to police, she then spit and vomited.
Police indicate that they charged her with four offenses, including driving under the influence of alcohol and of drugs in addition to some traffic violations. Her car was impounded. The accused claims she wasn’t drinking, but that the alcohol smell came from where she worked because alcohol was served there and permeated her clothing.
The police Chief used this as an example of how hard it is to make a DUI arrest since more and more often people resist the officers when being booked.
In over 25 years of representing criminal and traffic clients, our legal team has represented accused citizens for virtually every imaginable offense. Especially during an arrest for driving under the influence, it is important to control how your actions may be captured by video as most police cars now have a video camera. In the event that a case goes to trial, the prosecutor and the judge will be allowed to view the video evidence and the defendant’s appearance in any such video may be the piece of evidence that holds the key to whether the client will win his or her case.
Arrested for a DUI in Chicago? The lawyer you hire matters. You need someone both experienced and aggressive, like the team at Mitchell S. Sexner & Associates LLC. They’ve been defending rights of people charged with crimes such as DUI since 1990. Contact us at (312) 644-0444 for a free consultation.
