Pubdate: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 Source: Blade, The (OH) Copyright: 2002 The Blade Contact: http://www.toledoblade.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/48 Author: Kim Bates ARREST OF OFFICER IS RULED IMPROPER Judge Says Trooper Acted Without Cause NAPOLEON - An Ohio Highway Patrol trooper did not have probable cause to arrest Henry County's former D.A.R.E. officer for drinking and driving in April, a visiting judge ruled. Judge Michael O'Malley made his decision late Friday in Napoleon Municipal Court in the case of Debra Pittman, 42, who had worked for the sheriff's office for nearly 25 years at the time of her arrest April 26. She resigned less than a week later. Ms. Pittman was arrested on County Road L at State Rt. 65 near her home. She was charged with driving under the influence, not wearing her seat belt, and having a broken taillight. She was placed on administrative suspension with pay pending a departmental investigation, which was nearly complete when Ms. Pittman retired, Sheriff John Nye has said. In his ruling, Judge O'Malley said the case involving Ms. Pittman was an example of "an equipment-failure stop - no bad driving." He described the conversation involving Ms. Pittman and Defiance OHP Trooper Anthony Brady as civil in nature and said that Ms. Pittman's actions were "not unusual for a late-night stop on a rural roadway." He ordered that Ms. Pittman's license, which was pulled at the time of her arrest, be returned to her immediately with full driving privileges. Judge O 'Malley also suppressed any evidence obtained after her arrest. The three misdemeanor charges remain pending against Ms. Pittman in Municipal Court. Pretrial and trial dates have not been scheduled. But Ms. Pittman's attorney, E. Charles Bates of Defiance, said he intends to continue fighting the DUI charge, using Judge O'Malley's decision in his effort. He has argued that it is not a crime to drink before driving, only to be legally intoxicated when doing so. "If the judge finds there's not sufficient cause to arrest, it seems rather unlikely they could prove beyond a reasonable doubt she was under the influence," Mr. Bates said. "She did nothing wrong. She didn't swerve; she didn't weave." David Land, the special prosecutor in the case, was in court yesterday and could not be reached for comment. In making his decision, Judge O'Malley listened to testimony on June 27 from Trooper Brady and watched a videotape of the stop. Based upon the evidence, the judge learned the trooper pulled Ms. Pittman over because the vehicle she was driving lacked rear lights. When the trooper approached the vehicle, he reported smelling a strong, pungent odor of alcohol. He further noted that Ms. Pittman had red, glassy eyes. The first thing Ms. Pittman gave to Trooper Brady was her sheriff's badge, but she later produced her driver's license and registration. After Ms. Pittman and her passenger got out of the pickup to check its rear lights, the trooper observed that Ms. Pittman's passenger was intoxicated. The passenger was sent back to the vehicle. The trooper said he smelled a moderate odor of alcohol on Ms. Pittman's breath. When asked, she told him she had consumed two beers since about 10 p.m. Ms. Pittman refused twice to take a field sobriety test. In his opinion, Judge O'Malley said it would be good police practice for one officer to identify himself or herself to another after being stopped. The judge added that a person who refuses to take a sobriety test could do so as a "purely innocent exercise of a legal right to the other extreme of a concealment of guilt." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth