DUI arrest but not charged

[exNavyOffRec]

I see what some are saying, but in the end of the day, he was not charged. I had a guy in my command get pulled over and got arrested for dui. He was not drunk, he was on medication given by doctor. In the end he did not get charged, the case was dropped and he never went to captains mast. Being arrested and being charged are two completely different things. To take it to the extreme you get arrested for suspsion of murder but dont get charged, absolutely nothing happens. It happened to my friend. He went to the jail and was released a few hours later. Wrong place wrong time. His record is clean just like the OP. I dont see why it would matter. When the app says police record, he can honeslty say no.

but the record isn't really "clean" any arrest shows up as you are put in the system, had a guy get his clearance changed to "no determination made" because he was arrested on leave and didn't end up being charged but OPM on a regular sweep found it and he didn't respond to request on what happened, but that was the commands fault.

 

[HAL Pilot]

To me, that still shows a poor choice. You knew you would be drinking, and you didn't have a plan to get home that didn't involve you driving.

Pure utter PC bullshit. I go out to dinner all the time knowing I'll have a drink or two and drive home afterward. There is a difference between drinking & driving responisbily within the legal limits and getting drunk then driving. There is no reason to take a cab or have a designated driver everytime I want a beer with my burger or a margarita with my nachos.

I also think it is pure PC BS that the Air Force dropped the OP as all charges were dropped. Many people get arrested mistakenly and there should be no penalty when it happens. I know the Navy and the other services are just as bad about this. Another reason it's a good time to be retired.

 

[Tomodachi]

Pure utter PC bullshit. I go out to dinner all the time knowing I'll have a drink or two and drive home afterward. There is a difference between drinking & driving responisbily within the legal limits and getting drunk then driving. There is no reason to take a cab or have a designated driver everytime I want a beer with my burger or a margarita with my nachos.

I also think it is pure PC BS that the Air Force dropped the OP as all charges were dropped. Many people get arrested mistakenly and there should be no penalty when it happens. I know the Navy and the other services are just as bad about this. Another reason it's a good time to be retired.

I'm with eas7888 on this one. Not everywhere you go nowadays will allow you to have one or two beers and get behind the wheel. Here in Japan, a .03 is enough to charge you with a DWDI (driving while drinking indicated). That is enough to be prosecuted off base by the civilian authorities and all bases in Japan have adopted the same laws. Also, in Italy they are cracking down on drivers who are under the influence as well with similar laws.

A sailor stationed in Atsugi last year was charged with vehicular manslaughter and DUI after he pulled into a parking lot and struck a Japanese national on a scooter, who fell down and actually ended up dying from injuries sustained. The sailor registered at a .03 BAC which is quite low, however guess who is in Japanese prison awaiting these charges? This sailor. Here is the article if you don't believe me http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific...indicted-on-manslaughter-dui-charges-1.134987

In my opinion I do not think it is a good idea to get behind the wheel after drinking, regardless how much you have had. How do I know this? From my 3 1/2 years doing Military Police work here in Japan and the dozens of careers I have seen crushed by the same mentality you are portraying that having one or two and driving is "okay".

 

[fc2spyguy]

I'm with eas7888 on this one. Not everywhere you go nowadays will allow you to have one or two beers and get behind the wheel. Here in Japan, a .03 is enough to charge you with a DWDI (driving while drinking indicated). That is enough to be prosecuted off base by the civilian authorities and all bases in Japan have adopted the same laws. Also, in Italy they are cracking down on drivers who are under the influence as well with similar laws.

A sailor stationed in Atsugi last year was charged with vehicular manslaughter after he pulled into a parking lot and struck a Japanese national on a scooter, who fell down and actually ended up dying from injuries sustained. The sailor registered at a .03 BAC which is quite low, however guess who is in Japanese prison awaiting these charges? This sailor. Here is the article if you don't believe me http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific...indicted-on-manslaughter-dui-charges-1.134987

In my opinion I do not think it is a good idea to get behind the wheel after drinking, regardless how much you have had. How do I know this? From my 3 1/2 years doing Military Police work here in Japan and the dozens of careers I have seen crushed by the same mentality you are portraying that having one or two and driving is "okay".

Okay, where do you draw the line? Does a .03 equate to the asshat that is texting while driving? I don't think so yet the punishment involved is not even close. I'm sorry but you can't convince me that a .03 significantly decreased a persons reaction times to save the guy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I get it, drinking and driving is bad, but one drink is not going to degrade a person so far that they can't operate a vehicle.

 

[eas7888]

Pure utter PC bullshit. I go out to dinner all the time knowing I'll have a drink or two and drive home afterward. There is a difference between drinking & driving responisbily within the legal limits and getting drunk then driving. There is no reason to take a cab or have a designated driver everytime I want a beer with my burger or a margarita with my nachos.

I also think it is pure PC BS that the Air Force dropped the OP as all charges were dropped. Many people get arrested mistakenly and there should be no penalty when it happens. I know the Navy and the other services are just as bad about this. Another reason it's a good time to be retired.

Hal, I'm not saying people don't know their limits. . .but the officer apparently had enough cause to warrant an arrest. Obviously, I wasn't there, and apparently there wasn't enough evidence to pursue a conviction, though that could be for a number of technicalities.

I understand what you're saying, however, the system is supposed to be "Innocent until proven guilty" and in this case, it seems like the OP has been shown to be guilty until proven innocent.

 

[Tomodachi]

Okay, where do you draw the line? Does a .03 equate to the asshat that is texting while driving? I don't think so yet the punishment involved is not even close. I'm sorry but you can't convince me that a .03 significantly decreased a persons reaction times to save the guy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I get it, drinking and driving is bad, but one drink is not going to degrade a person so far that they can't operate a vehicle.

A .03 is not a very significant amount of alcohol in the system but it is enough to decrease reaction times. I do not have the figures in front of me but NHTSA has researched this and there are affects when one consumes alcohol and gets behind the wheel.

Regardless, alcohol in the system can be a considered a "contributing factor" to the totality of the traffic accident I referenced. Just like how most of the time (i'd say 90%) when individuals are involved in fights, domestic violence, alcohol is a contributing factor.

 

[fc2spyguy]

A .03 is not a very significant amount of alcohol in the system but it is enough to decrease reaction times. I do not have the figures in front of me but NHTSA has researched this and there are affects when one consumes alcohol and gets behind the wheel.

Regardless, alcohol in the system can be a considered a "contributing factor" to the totality of the traffic accident I referenced. Just like how most of the time (i'd say 90%) when individuals are involved in fights, domestic violence, alcohol is a contributing factor.

A contributing factor. . . one of my favorite things someone says. Ok, a very quick google search show's this http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101019162149.htm If you read they have .05 and below as a moderate intoxication. Also noted was

In the experiment, there was no significant data between the control and moderate intoxication . . .

I read that to be there really isn't a difference.

 

[Tomodachi]

A contributing factor. . . one of my favorite things someone says. Ok, a very quick google search show's this http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101019162149.htm If you read they have .05 and below as a moderate intoxication. Also noted was I read that to be there really isn't a difference.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/research/pub/impaired_driving/BAC/discus-conclud.html

Here is a summary on a study conducted by NHTSA on the effects of different levels of BAC.

The results obtained in this laboratory study demonstrate that major driving-related skills were impaired by BACs as low as 0.02% on some important measures for a majority of Ss who were a broadly representative sample of the driving population

 

[mjv305]

I was stationed in sicily.. Some of the most absurdly ridiculous lunatic retarded drivers live there. DUI was a huge thing there. The CO used to say if you get a DUI i will crush you or if you drive drunk on my street i will cut you..Im sure he was bluffing on that, but every night from 9pm to 6am they had dui checkpoints at every entry on every base and housing units. To be considered for a DUI you needed .05.. To be classified as a DUI under itlaian laws you needed a .08. I say all this because in a foreign country with retarded drivers and horrendous roads, it was determined by the NAVY that anything under .05 was good to go. .03 is a joke.. It is 1 1/2 beer. And also, alcohol affects each person differently. Some people can drive safely under the influence and some can not at all. There is a Harvard study or some other Ivy League study on the matter. I have read it. There is also a study that like 8% of population can drive and talk on the phone with absolutely no drawbacks.
I would like to rip the other 92%'s heads off...

 

[Officer Recruiter]

As a officer recruiter I would need more information to give you a good answer. What was your BAC? What was your degree in? What was your GPA? Also how well you do on the ASTB test if you haven't taken it. And you would probably require a waiver? Would need to see court docs - police reports - disposition. Your more than welcome to call my office at 916-631-7596 ask for William.

 

[JIMC5499]

A NHTSA study has no credability with me. NHTSA has a vested intrest in inflating DUI statistics. Time after time they have been disproven. Right now with municipal budgets being what they are, some Police departments are pulling stunts like this to justify their grants from NHTSA and MADD. More arrests equal more funding.

 

[Brett327]

This is all irrelevant. DUI is a 100% avoidable issue and we all know that the penalty for failure is high. If you're willing to play with fire, you have to be prepared to suffer the consequences.

 

[pilot_man]

Come on Brett, it's a little bit relevant. The fact is, this guy is guilty until proven innocent. We all know that drinking causes impaired driving. We also know that governments put a limit on what is considered too impaired. The whole Japan discussion is irrelevant. This dude wasn't in Japan. DUI is avoidable. Being wrongly accused or accused without sufficient evidence in this case was not avoidable. Let me go tell all of the O-5 and O-6s that were at the club yesterday that they are wrong by drinking a beer or two after work, and then driving home. Not because they were over the limit, but because they were playing with fire.

 

[JIMC5499]

I have been stopped at a checkpoint, coming home from work, late at night. I blew a .01, having had nothing to drink for several days. Had to lockup my car, get handcuffed, ride to the station, just to blow a 0.0 in the bigger machine at the station. Had to wait several hours to get a ride back to my car (handcuffed again) and finally made it home in time for the local news to give the box score for that checkpoint. It was 1 DUI arrest, mine. I actually got to see myself being put into the police car. Thankfully with all of the lights nobody could recognize me. It all comes down to statistics and money. I agree that DUI is a problem, but, its effects are blown out of proportion and I am not going into how much our Rights have been eroded in its name. Google "DUI Blog" and read for yourself.

 

[Brett327]

Come on Brett, it's a little bit relevant. The fact is, this guy is guilty until proven innocent. We all know that drinking causes impaired driving. We also know that governments put a limit on what is considered too impaired. The whole Japan discussion is irrelevant. This dude wasn't in Japan. DUI is avoidable. Being wrongly accused or accused without sufficient evidence in this case was not avoidable. Let me go tell all of the O-5 and O-6s that were at the club yesterday that they are wrong by drinking a beer or two after work, and then driving home. Not because they were over the limit, but because they were playing with fire.

I'm talking about the guys who are saying, "Well, this study says this and that study says that and the cops just want to get funding blah, blah, blah." That is all well and good, but people (you and I) are presented with the rules - plain and simple. We don't have to like them, but if we choose to cross the line - even into a gray zone, we're taking our careers into our own hands. I'm not splitting hairs with the guy above who blew a .01 - that's obviously unjust, but likely an outlier.

I agree that the way this (and other countries) handle DUI in such a draconian way is outrageous. That said, there's a way to lobby the system for change, but compaining about it after you get a DUI doesn't make one a very credible advocat.

@Pilotman: Some of those same O5s and O6s have ended up on the fired CO list over the past few years. They're big boys, but they're still playing with fire.

Brett