As a Kentucky DUI attorney, I have observed diabetics arrested and victimized by the zealous efforts by poorly trained law enforcement officers seeking to obtain a DUI convictions. The truth is that some diabetic individuals arrested for DUI are innocent of the DUI charges and need medical attention.
For example, in one case reviewed for this article, the subject arrested by police for DUI suffered from diabetic symptoms, and the officer did nothing to help the detainee. In that case, the officer stated on the police report that the subject had the odor of alcohol, that they failed all of the standard field sobriety tests (SFSTs), and that the Portable Breath Test (PBT) device measured alcohol on the subjects breath. Yet the subject's blood test for alcohol registered ZERO. In that case the prosecutor refused to drop the charges, further victimizing the detainee.
In reality, this author has the opinion that many Kentucky police officers are not given enough training to determine if a person should be arrested for DUI or if they are in need of medical attention. I wrote about the problem of poor officer training in my post Standard Field Sobriety Tests Do Not Accurately Measure Driver Impairment. In that post, I presented a research study on the inaccuracy of the Standard Field Sobriety Tests conducted in 1991 at Clemson University which showed that SFST's yield false results. In that study, 21 sober individuals with a blood alcohol content of zero (0.00) were videotaped performing six common Standard Field Sobriety Tests. The videotapes were then shown to 14 officers who were asked to determine if each of the individuals had too much to drink and drive. The officers were not informed that the individuals on the videotapes were sober. The officers found that 46 percent of the time the individuals were too intoxicated to drive. Since this study did not occur in Kentucky, it therefore can be argued that this may not be limited to Kentucky police officers.
This author therefore recommends that Kentucky police officers who can be expected to arrest individuals for DUI be given additional training to aid in the detection of persons suffering from medical conditions, including diabetes.
Post by Lexington Kentucky Attorney Stephen J. Isaacs, Isaacs Law Office.
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I, myself, am a recent victim of this same overzealous enforcement of Public Intoxication laws in TN. I was beaten, pepper-sprayed , finally taken to the ER by ambulance, where I was later tasered by an officer as I tried to have hin get the Doctor to check my blood sugar. I had to have an insulin injection, after which I was incarcerated with no food for until the following morning. I had not eaten since 5 pm the evening before.
I believe the police involved used the Public Intoxication excuse to simply beat an unconcious person. I have absolutely no recollection of any of this, yet I am charged with Public Intoxication, resisting arrest and assaulting an officer.... and all I needed was a glucose tablet.
Posted by: Randall Wood | January 09, 2010 at 12:06 PM
Society is facing problems with such laws. This has to be resolved legally and it’s needed to be sorted at the earliest.
Posted by: catus | May 12, 2009 at 03:31 AM
Very interesting study. I agree with the commenter above... it's interesting to see how inaccurate the "system" can be. It reminds me of a COPS episode I saw recently where the guy arrested an individual for being drunk as he was walking along the street..he wasn't stumbling, he was speaking completely coherently and more. The cop was on a power trip. Not everyone is qualified to make decisions like this.
Posted by: Legal Transcription | October 20, 2008 at 01:50 PM
As a DUI defense attorney, I think this is a great entry - shows how Diabetics don't "fit" the prosecution and police model of how persons under the influence should act. Unfortunately, police not only jump to conclusions, they put people at risk.
Posted by: Orange County DUI Attorney | February 06, 2008 at 09:09 PM