A veteran Miami-Dade Police officer has been arrested and charged with DUI for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol in Broward County, Florida.
The off-duty 12-year veteran of the Miami-Dade Police Department allegedly made an illegal u-turn on the Turnpike. The officer was pulled over by an FHP trooper who observed signs of impairment. Typical signs of impairment in a DUI case include bloodshot, watery eyes, an odor of alcohol coming from the suspect’s mouth, flushed face, and slurred speech.
The trooper asked the officer to submit to field sobriety tests, which the officer apparently did not perform to standard.
The officer allegedly begged the trooper not to arrest him because he was a fellow cop.
The officer refused to submit to a breath test and allegedly vomited at the police station while being processed.
As is the protocol when a police officer is arrested, the accused has been relieved of duty by the Miami-Dade Police Department with pay while the case is pending.
A DUI in Florida carries a mandatory conviction (adjudication) and a court-imposed 6-month driver’s license suspension. In addition to criminal penalties, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will suspend your license for a breath reading of .08 or higher (6 months) or for a refusal (1 year).
The DHSMV and criminal components of your DUI case are separate. Only if you are acquitted of DUI at trial will the DHSMV invalidate your administrative suspension. Otherwise, even if you get your DUI case dismissed, accept Back On Track (Dade County only), or get the case broken down to a reckless driving, this will have no effect on what the DHSMV does with your license.
Driving is a privilege, not a right.
Eric Matheny is a Miami DUI lawyer and Broward DUI lawyer.