Source: Redding Record Searchlight (CA) Contact: http://www.redding.com/ Pubdate: 21 May 1998 BYRD HAD OPEN BOTTLE IN TRUCK Siskiyou sheriff wasn't cited by the CHP Siskiyou County Sheriff Charlie Byrd said he was driving home. He said he didn't realize the whiskey bottle was on his front seat. SACRAMENTO (AP) -- A north state county sheriff who had alcohol on his breath and an open whiskey bottle by his side when he was pulled over by the California Highway Patrol got a ride home that night instead of a citation. Siskiyou County Sheriff Charlie Byrd, who is the president of the California State Sheriff's Association, also refused to take sobriety test after being stopped April 10 on an icy road in Weed, the CHP released information about the stop after inquires from reporters. Byrd, 50, said Wednesday that he wasn't intoxicated and was never asked to submit to sobriety tests, a statement the CHP disputes. He said the case was handled appropriately. "I'd been fishing. I was on my way home. I didn't have my seat belt on. I should have. I got stopped. I didn't realize it (the bottle) was there. It shouldn't have been there," he said. Byrd noted it is not illegal to drink before driving, so long as the driver is not intoxicated. Mothers Against Drunk Driving, a national organization which lobbies for passage of tougher drunken driving laws throughout the nation, said the sheriff should have been cited. "While MADD doesn't want to second-guess the CHP, we believe law enforcement agents, particularly the sheriff, should be an example to the rest of the community." California MADD Executive Director Vicky Cloud said. "He at least should have been cited for open container," Cloud said. "And without benefit of a test, we won't ever know whether the sheriff was under the influence." Byrd, sheriff for 12 years, is running for re-election in June. A highway patrol official said it's common for officers to assure verbal warnings for a variety of minor offenses. "It was the best decision given the circumstances," said Bob Forrest, assistant chief of the CHP's Northern Division in Redding. Forrest said he has ordered a review of how the two veteran CHP officers involved handled the incident "to assure myself that everything was above board and all procedures were followed properly." MADD said the case is typical of law enforcement watching out for its own: "It's not uncommon from what we hear," Cloud said. Byrd was pulled over on a frontage road in his personal vehicle at about 11:30 p.m. by an officer who suspected he wasn't wearing a safety belt. Officer Scott Marmont said he thought he smelled a mild odor of alcohol on Byrd's breath and saw a small, half-empty whiskey bottle on the pickup seat next to Byrd, according to CHP reports. The report indicates Byrd refused two forms of sobriety tests. Byrd told the officer that he had forgotten that the bottle was next to him on the seat. It's against the law to have an open container of alcohol in a car. Marmont called his supervisor, Sgt. Robert Ashworth, who arrived around midnight . Ashworth said he did not smell alcohol on Byrd's breath and that Byrd was stable when he got out of his truck. Ashworth decided Byrd was fatigued or ill, not intoxicated, then drove him about a mile to his home. Ashworth acted within department policy, according to Forrest. He noted that Byrd hadn't been driving erratically and said the icy condition of the road could have resulted in Byrd slipping during a sobriety test. - --- Checked-by: Mike Gogulski