Bellevue officers investigated after one makes a DUI stop of another
Some Bellevue officers are causing trouble again. This time one Bellevue officer is accused of letting another Bellevue police officer go following a DUI stop. Now this isn’t the first time the Bellevue Police Department has come under scrutiny due to actions by some of their police officers. Remember last summer several Bellevue police officers got into it with a female Seattle Police Officer at a Hawks game.
Bellevue police say on Nov. 20, an unidentified off-duty Bellevue police officer was driving home in his patrol car when he stopped a car on Interstate 90 near Issaquah to investigate the driver for possible DUI. The driver of the vehicle that was pulled over was another Bellevue Police officer, according to Bellevue city Prosecutor who filed the DUI charge Thursday in King County District Court in Issaquah.
As a DUI Lawyer in Seattle I’m not quite sure how I feel about this. On one hand I don’t really have a problem with a police officer letting someone go home. Back in the old days I used to hear stories about somebody getting stopped for a DUI, and the Police officer just letting the driver go and they would follow them home. Or the Police Officer would give a courtesy ride home and not arrest the driver. Sometimes I have represented clients who hardly exhibited any evidence of impairment and the arresting officer was just being a di*k when they arrested the client for DUI.
However on the other hand I’m kind of pissed this Bellevue Police Officer might get away with this. Like I said before there have been plenty of times when I felt like clients shouldn’t have been arrested, and I was upset they had to go through the court process. Even though this guy got charged with the DUI, I’m willing to be there are some serious evidentiary issues. I doubt he did any field sobriety tests. Since he was let go there is probably no breath test. So probably the only evidence is the observations of an odor of alcohol, maybe slurred speech, and watery bloodshot eyes. Additionally I highly doubt the Bellevue Police Officer who stopped this guy for a DUI is going to be a good witness for the Prosecution.
Should be interesting to see what happens with this Issaquah DUI case. I’ll keep you updated.
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About the author: Matthew Leyba is a DUI lawyer in Seattle, WA. His practice focuses on representing those charged with DUI and other traffic offenses. If you have been arrested for a DUI in Seattle or the Bellevue area contact Leyba Defense PLLC immediately to ensure your constitutional rights are protected.