Two veteran Hollywood police officers have been arrested on charges in connection with falsifying evidence in a South Florida DUI accident, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
While this case is an extreme example, it is important to remember that law enforcement is not on your side when it comes to being arrested on a Fort Lauderdale drunk driving charge or in connection with a serious accident. Motorists sometimes think that by completing field sobriety tests they may be determined not to be intoxicated. Generally, an officer has decided to arrest you for drunk driving from the moment he smelled alcohol or otherwise decided for himself that you were intoxicated. Field sobriety tests and other evidence gathered by law enforcement is meant to prove your guilt.
Likewise, statements and police reports compiled by law enforcement may frequently leave out evidence that could help your defense. Documenting everything you can remember about the circumstances of your arrest, and sharing those details with a Fort Lauderdale DUI defense lawyer, is essential to properly defending yourself against a drunk driving charge.
In this case, the two officers, ages 37 and 43, surrendered on Wednesday to authorities at the Broward County Main Jail. Both are charged with four counts of official misconduct, four counts of falsifying records, one count of conspiracy to commit official misconduct and one count of conspiracy to falsify records. Each man had bail set at $100,000 and remained in jail on Wednesday night.
The charges stem from a February 2009 car accident in which one of the officers rear-ended a Hollywood woman while driving his patrol car. The officer's personnel file listed eight other crashes in his 12 years on the force, according to the Sun-Sentinel. Other officers responded, including a crime scene technician.
Several were caught on a cruiser's dashboard camera discussing how to doctor the scene to absolve the officer from responsibility for causing the accident.
The woman was arrested and charged with DUI. Prosecutors later dropped the charges against her after evidence from the dashboard camera became public. The other officer, a 22-year veteran of the force, wrote in a report that the woman abruptly hit her brakes, causing the officer to rear-end her car.
Both officers were fired in January, along with three other police department employees who were on the scene, including a sergeant and a crime scene technician.
Fort Lauderdale DUI Lawyer Carlos Canet is an aggressive and experienced drunk driving defense attorney, representing clients facing DUI and other serious traffic cases in South Florida, including DUI manslaughter and drunk driving charges involving motor vehicle accidents. Call 866-7ASKDUI to discuss your rights.
