Prosecutors Find No Wrongdoing in DUI Arrest of City Commissioners Friend
Our Fort Lauderdale drunk driving criminal defense attorneys were very interested to read about the controversy surrounding a DUI arrest in Sunrise. According to the May 24 South Florida Sun-Sentinel, investigators have dismissed allegations that Sunrise Police Chief John Brooks intervened in the DUI stop of a politically connected resident. Herbert Turner was pulled over in July of last year on suspicion of DUI, but the charges were eventually dropped. An anonymous letter accused Brooks of intervening in the stop as a favor to Joey Scuotto, a Sunrise city commissioner who is friends with Turner. The state’s attorney’s office looked into the matter and found no wrongdoing.
According to the article, the anonymous letter claimed Turner was arrested for DUI after the July 22, 2009, traffic stop. During that interaction, the letter said, Turner called Scuotto for help. Scuotto allegedly called Brooks, who called the supervisors for the officer involved. The letter said the officer was ordered to release Turner and destroy records of the arrest. However, the state’s attorney’s investigation did not find evidence backing up this version of events. Assistant State’s Attorney Jeannette Camacho interviewed several officers who denied the allegations. Under oath, the officer at the scene said there was no arrest. Camacho said her office dropped the case for lack of evidence. If the allegations had been found to be true, Brooks could have been prosecuted for misusing his office.
As West Palm Beach DUI criminal defense lawyers, we hope the state’s attorney is right. Officials who use their influence to get themselves and their friends out of trouble are abusing their power, and law enforcement officers who go along with them are abusing theirs. If Brooks had acted to free Turner on Scuotto’s behalf, he would have been indirectly harming the authority of the police department and the rule of law. However, it’s not unusual for drunk driving prosecutions to be dropped for lack of evidence. To win an intoxicated driving case in Florida, prosecutors need to show a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 or higher, or “impairment of normal faculties.” Without a breath or blood test, the prosecution has to rely on the impairment part of the statute, which is harder to prove. For example, field sobriety tests are genuinely not very scientific or reliable, making them easy for an experienced attorney to challenge.
Everyone accused of driving under the influence in Florida should get help -- even if they don’t have political connections. Law offices of Sebastian John Balliro, P.A. defends people from every walk of life from DUI and related charges. Our Miami-Dade intoxicated driving criminal defense attorneys take an aggressive stance in all drunk driving cases, because we understand how serious a conviction can be. For a first offense, drivers lose their licenses for six months to a year and face jail time or probation, community service, vehicle impoundment, mandatory alcohol classes and an instant increase in auto insurance rates. Many of these have dramatic secondary effects on drivers’ lives, such as losing a job because you can no longer reliably get to work on time. We can often find strong defenses to DUI cases and use them to get your charges reduced or dismissed, or mount a strong defense in court.
If you’re accused of drunk driving in Florida, you should call Balliro right away. To set up a free consultation, please call us, 24 hours a day and seven days a week, at 1-866-ARRESTED or send us a message online.
