Page 46 - February 2017

The DUI stop and arrest
A refresher on how to proceed from an Academy and Department expert
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
Early on a Sunday morning, maybe around 2 a.m., a driver heading westbound on North Avenue slowly begins to drift out of the lane of travel. Any patrol officer would typically close distance, leading to seeing the car with headlights off. Additional cues to the possibility of driver impairment warrant a stop and check for Driving Under the Influence (DUI).
So what does the officer do next?
If you recall your National Highway Traffic Safety Ad- ministration (NHTSA) 24-hour DUI Detection and Stan- dardized Field Sobriety Testing course many Chicago Po- lice Officers have taken, or the DUI training at the Chicago Police Academy, there’s a very specific progression to fol- low even before the test to check if Blood Alcohol Content measures more than the .08 limit to be considered driving while intoxicated.
There’s so much to administering a successful DUI stop and arrest that a 24-hour training course is more or less mandatory to know how to do it correctly and so that the charge will hold up in court, where aggressive defense law- yers are looking to pounce on the slightest slip in report- ing.
“It’s not a good science,” confides Officer Bernie Con- sidine, who has been an instructor at the Academy special- izing in DUI since 2014, and prior to that was recognized by both Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists (AAIM) for his years of DUI enforcement.
“NHTSA gives us the tools, but officers who write DUIs need to be attuned to looking for the specific cues and clues of an impaired driver,” Considine continues. “You have to use your senses and take good notes throughout the entire incident. Make sure you are painting the pic- ture of everything you see, hear and smell, even though it might seem minor. It’s like taking a 10,000-piece puzzle and putting it together.”
That puzzle will be built on all evidence gathered from the three phases of DUI detection, which includes Stan- dardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFST) an officer must ad- minister before making the decision to arrest. Using the NHTSA standards, Officer Considine shares some of his insight about how to properly address those three phases: Phase 1: Vehicle in Motion
Simple driving cues, such as failing to turn on a vehicle’s headlights at night or weaving within a lane, that might indicate the possibility of impairment must be observed by the officer. Observable evidence might be best charac- terized as what the vehicle or driver do to draw your atten- tion.
“If you see a violation, such as a vehicle failing to remain within its lane, an officer would have to clearly articulate that violation, including the number of times and distance traveled,” Considine explains. “Your ability to put the judge or jury in the officer’s shoes that night is a matter of clearly and convincingly testifying on what happened
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while the vehicle was being operated by the driver–i.e.:
The vehicle was traveling westbound on Chicago Avenue, slowly drifting into the eastbound lane for two blocks, on three occasions.
“What we teach is based on the NHTSA 24-hour course that emphasizes officers taking accurate and descriptive notes that assist with writing accurate, chronological, de- tailed and complete reports, so that an officer can better testify, ‘How did the vehicle respond to your signal to stop? How did the driver handle the stopping sequence? Were these observations an indication of impairment?’ It’s not an easy task.”
Phase 2: Personal contact
After the stop is made and before asking a single ques- tion, officers should use their senses to notice whether the driver’s body is rigid or placid. Are the driver’s eyes blood- shot? Do you see droopy eyelids? Pay attention to fine motors skills because, according to NHTSA, when a driv- er reaches higher BAC levels, fine motor skills are affected first.
“When you ask the driver to present a license and proof of insurance, notice how they grab them,” Considine adds. “When they are searching for the documents, ask them an interrupting or distracting question such as, ‘What’s your middle name?’ Something drivers wouldn’t expect. Do they ignore the question? Do they stop searching and forget to continue the search? Do they give a grossly in- correct answer? If sober, a driver should be able to answer the question, and continue searching for the documents without issue.”
Considine reminds that officers should be looking for reasonable suspicion to move on to Phase 3. So as Phase 2 proceeds, notice when a driver gets out of the car. Does he or she use the car or the side of the seat for support? Is there a problem opening the door? Pay attention to the simple things that people take for granted when they are sober.
Phase 3: Pre-Arrest Screening
The three parts of NHTSA Standardized Field Sobri- ety Tests (SFST) include the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) Test, the Walk and Turn Test (WAT) and the One Leg Stand (OLS) Test. Considine recommends that patrol and traffic officers continually review the NHTSA standards for each of these tests, and adds some additional points of emphasis he makes during Academy training that are es- pecially important when you think about how to make the arrest hold up in court. Remember, when beginning any screening, be sure to account for safety. Always administer SFST in a well lit, dry, and safe location.
The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test is the first of the three-test battery. Officers can use a pen or a penlight, but never directly shine light into the eyes of a subject. Your finger can be used, but whatever the object, make sure that it is in contrast to the background the subject is view- ing. Use your non-weapon hand to administer the HGN test, blading your body to keep your weapon away from the subject. NHTSA calls for the object to be 12 to 15 inch-