In a nut shell, I was pulled over by a new officer in training for no reason other than I drive an older model work truck which is an eye sore In Eagle County, Colorado by a State Patrol Officer in training. I have a full description document with every detail of the incident.
My driving was perfect and I was driving within the legal speed limit. When the officer approached me he began making up reasons for pulling me over which weren't true like while I had the cruise control on he said that he saw me slam on my breaks almost causing an accident which never happened, etc.. Then, he asked for my registration and then gave it back and then asked for it a second time pretending that I never gave it to him in the first place, etc..
After he saw a sealed prescription of medical marijuana in my vehicle which was still sealed he then gave me a roadside sobriety test which I believe that I passed, but he claimed that I failed which isn't true. The video will show me performing the test perfectly.
After he arrested me for Driving Under Influence Of Drugs and put me in the back of the patrol car he put the handcuffs on deliberately too tight. I then passed out repeatedly from the pain until my hands went numb. The sensation in my left hand has not fully returned months after this injury.
I was not impaired in any way but I did have trace amounts of marijuana in my system because I have a prescription for it for sports injuries, pain and insomnia. I was not impaired, though. I hadn't drank any alcohol in nearly a week prior.
I did have a blood test taken that night but haven't received the results yet but will soon.
I'm 48 yea're old and currently have a perfect/clean driving record. My criminal history is very clean as well.
Can an officer pull me over for no reason then lie about the reasons and get away with it or do I have a defence for this? I know nothing about the law when it comes to how much medical patients and others are allowed to have in their system while driving but I was not impaired in any way. My driving and behavior was perfect. My preliminary hearing is tomorrow and I've never been through anything like this. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
1 Answer from Attorneys
There are both practical, and legal answers to your questions.
Legally, the officer needs at least reasonable suspicion of criminal activity for a lawful stop. The cop will claim what you already described. Absent video, the practical question becomes who does the judge believe more. The same applies for your score on the field sobriety maneuvers.
Based on your description, you've got a number of technical and practical defenses. Before you make any decisions about plea offers at your pretrial, you really should contact an attorney.
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