Fake DUIs in Georgia

A strange case in the state of Georgia highlights how important it is to hire an experienced DUI lawyer if you are ever arrested. A police officer in Commerce, Georgia was just fired from his job for arresting innocent people for DUIs.

According to Fox 5 Atlanta, who investigated this case, Officer Jacob Wood had an unusually high number of DUIs. Officer Wood recorded nearly twice as many as the rest of the officers in his department combined. This may be because he received training in DUI arrests. He took an Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement course at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center, butt even his instructor was concerned when he reviewed body camera footage. He told Fox 5 Atlanta he was “alarmed.”

In one case, a driver passed a breathalyzer test 10 times and was still arrested for a DUI. And in another case, a person was arrested because her eyelids were tremoring during the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus portion of a voluntary field sobriety test. In fact, in many of the false arrest cases, the officer recorded arrests for people who failed voluntary field sobriety tests. While most of the DUI arrests Officer Wood made were thrown out after blood tests came back negative for substance use, it caused a lot of embarrassment and injustice for many citizens in Commerce.

While this is certainly an unusual circumstance, false arrests do happen in Georgia. After reviewing this situation independently, there are a few things that we encourage citizens to do when you are pulled over.

Politely Refuse Field Sobriety Tests

You have a right in Georgia to refuse field sobriety tests. They are voluntary. While it may be intimidating to decline, we encourage you to do so in a firm but polite manner, whether you have been drinking or not. This is because we believe that field sobriety tests can be misleading evidence. (Many people fail these tests sober because they are understandably nervous!)

Get Help from a Lawyer

And, if you believe you are innocent, no matter what a police officer may be telling you, it is a good idea to hire an experienced lawyer as soon as possible. A DUI Lawyer can help you wade through the legal issues and find the best outcome for your case.