Posted on 10/07/2004 8:12:27 PM PDT by Horatio Gates
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The son of Nashville's police chief was arrested and charged with drunken driving early Thursday morning, and the chief sent him to jail.
A Vanderbilt University police officer found Dustin Christopher Serpas passed out in the driver's seat of his car with the door wide open, engine running and hands on the steering wheel, the police affidavit said.
Serpas, 26, is the son of Chief Ronal Serpas, who came to Nashville in January after heading the Washington State Patrol.
"When I got the word this was going on, I had one simple response: 'Book him,'" Serpas said. "He's a grown man. He needs to be accountable and responsible for his own behavior."
Serpas was found in a parking lot behind a coffee shop.
"After a few minutes, I was able to awake the subject," Officer Joe R. Evans wrote in an affidavit.
Serpas told police he'd been drinking at a nearby restaurant, and officers said he failed field sobriety tests. He refused to take blood or breath alcohol tests and was arrested.
"A police officer's job is tough enough without the son of an officer acting a fool," the chief said. "I'm convinced he needs to be held accountable and he will be held accountable."
Chief Serpas said his son hadn't contacted him in the 12 hours after the arrest.
Dustin Serpas was released on a $2,000 bond.
Germany is worse - being drunk and in the car while just having the ignition key (and it's usually the same as the door key) counts as a serious crime.
Sieg Heil!
Serpas has been doing a great job here. His son screwed up. It's silly for people to be whining about what the legality of the law is. I am proud of our Police Chief for not making excuses. He just said it like it is. We need more of this in today's world.
Keys in the ignition, car running and hands on the steering wheel and you have trouble figuring out why it's a DUI?
Key in the ignition.
In Tennessee you can be in the back seat with the keys in your pocket and it is still DUI. Go Chief!
thats wrong
Channel 5 in Nashville stated this at 6:00 and at 10:00. You are wrong!
I drink on social ocasions, usually stop after 2 drinks and hardly ever get drunk. The older I get, the harder it is to do the hangover thing.
One night about 2 years ago I was plastered. I got into my car, started it and drove one block. NOT a good idea. So I parked my car, locked the door and dozed a bit. (Safe area of town, & had cell phone with me.)
I was telling someone about it a few days later & was shocked and surprised to discover that I could have been given a DUI had a policeman checked on my car while I was sobering up even though I did the responsible thing (yes, even after irresponsibly driving one block).
He should call McNair's lawyer now.
Don't you have to be drinking?
Like here in Australia, it is an offense if you are (a) over the limit, (b) in the vehicle (or entering the vehicle) and (c) in possession of the keys.
That's considered to be 'in control of the vehicle, as you have the means to operate the vehicle in your possession.
As an aside, the level of drink-driving in Australia is _seriously_ lower than in the US.
Sadim
If just keys in the ignition are sufficient for DUI, how do Motorhomes and campers fit into the equation? I can't sleep in my camper snockered?
It's not just the local governments that make a fortune, the insurance companies do quite well too. That's why the do everything they can to push lower BAC levels, down to 0.08 from 0.20.
They also buy police departments breathalyzers and the flashlight BAC meters, provide extensive training at the insurance company expense, and, for the departments that do real well at providing for the insurance companies, they buy them the real nice ford explorer "DUI Enforcement Units."
Just a small operating expense for them because the profits for a "High-risk" driver are way higher than a "good" driver.
Is that sarcasm I'm picking up? :-) From my experience, normally rational people (when sober) become extremely stupid, alcohol induced, when it comes down to testing them during DUI arrests. It's wierd, you can reason w/ them right up until the time to give a breath sample. Refusal results in an automatic license suspension in many states. A DUI attorney would never tell anyone to refuse a breath test but field sobriety tests are another matter.
They've had a lot of trouble in the past with Vanderbilt Police officers going OFF CAMPUS to stop people and harass them. I had a run in with one at the Waffle House years ago that tried to pass himself off as a Metro cop. I complained to his boss the next day and he wasn't very ammused at the oficers conduct.
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