Good field tests and bad Illinois DUI Officer
Here's an example of somebody doing very well on the DUI field sobriety tests. Most police DUI investigations would have stopped after the performance on these tests, but not this one. First watch the video, and then read the blurb below it:
Does video catch cop in lie? :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Metro & Tri-State: "The video from top DUI cop Joe D. Parker's squad car shows a man walking a straight line, without stumbling or flailing his arms.
When prosecutors viewed this video of Officer Joe D. Parker's July 2008 sobriety test of motorist Raymond L. Bell, they dropped DUI charges.
But Parker, a Chicago Police officer who has won acclaim for being among the leading DUI enforcers in the state, told a different story in his police report.
He wrote that Raymond L. Bell lost his balance and used his arms to steady himself. And he arrested the 33-year-old Oak Lawn man on charges of driving under the influence, speeding and negligent driving.
Now, after reviewing the squad-car video, Cook County prosecutors have dropped the July 2008 charges against Bell.
And they're considering filing criminal charges against the 59-year-old Parker, who is one of three Chicago cops whose prolific DUI-busting has now come under scrutiny. Dozens of DUI arrests by Parker alone are under review, sources say.
'There is an ongoing investigation, but we are not going to comment in further detail,' said Sally Daly, spokeswoman for Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez.
Prosecutors have charged one of those cops -- Officer John Haleas -- with trumping up a DUI case. A review of his DUI arrests led to 156 cases being dismissed, Daly said."
That pretty much says it all about what to expect from some police officers in Illinois DUI cases.
