Winnebago Co., Wisconsin
A Wisconsin man arrested for operating while intoxicated whose blood alcohol level was close to three times the legal limit was acquitted of all charges at a jury trial in October.
The Winnebago County man was arrested for an Operating While Intoxicated (OWI)-1st offense, and Operating With a Prohibited Alcohol Content (PAC)-1st offense. Police arrested the man around 1:00 a.m. in a parking lot where he was standing outside his vehicle with his wife and friends. His blood alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit. He failed all the field sobriety tests, and could be seen on video tape slurring his speech, and swaying to the point of nearly falling down. Police claimed they followed the vehicle into the parking lot and saw him get out of the driver's side. Police also claimed one of the passengers had identified the defendant as the driver. The Defendant's attorney, Sydne French, was able to present damning evidence, testimony that showed police had coerced the witness who identified the defendant as the driver. The jury heard from the passenger that police had actually threatened to arrest her if she did not identify the defendant as the driver. Attorney French's cross examination of officers also revealed several minutes had passed before the police pulled into the parking lot, making it impossible for them to have seen the defendant getting out of the driver's seat.
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