Defendant, IM, was charged at 0.08 with OWI.
Defendant was stopped for speeding. Following the traffic stop, the officer had IM perform several field sobriety tests. Defendant performed the field sobriety tests, showing little or no signs of intoxication. Only one test (the one-leg stand "OLS" was performed poorly. A Datamaster test later revealed a breath alcohol level of 0.08.
Video tapes obtained from the police revealed that the arresting officer had exaggerated the Defendant's performance of the field sobriety tests, claiming he had performed poorly. The videos also revealed that the arresting officer failed to report all field sobriety tests that the officer had administered. The officer failed to report three alphabet tests, where he asked the Defendant to recite the alphabet from A to Z, then from J to S and finally from C to P. The videos revealed that Defendant performed all three tests without flaw, quickly and without pausing. The results of these three tests, in combination with performance of the others, indicated that the Defendant was not intoxicated.
The prosecuting attorney produced only the arresting officer at trial. The prosecuting attorney initially resisted a plea to a non-alcohol related offense. After meeting with the Court prior to trial, a plea to careless driving was agreed upon between the parties.
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