What do you think would happen if you were discovered unconscious behind the wheel of your vehicle? Do you think you would be treated as a medical emergency or like a drunk driver? According to an ABC story this is how one department treated their employee.
An independent investigation has been launched into the uniformed officer who was found passed out drunk in Aurora, Colorado.
Nathan Meier was found unresponsive behind the wheel of an unmarked police car and taken to a hospital in March, according to the Aurora Police Department, which said in a statement that some responding officers smelled “a very faint odor” that may have been alcohol.
The department faced outrage when the public learned there was no DUI investigation and no DUI charge against Meier. Aurora Police argued that the incident was treated as an emergency situation and there was no evidence of drinking at the scene.
According to my informational search, this is how Colorado works;
Any person who drives any motor vehicle upon the streets and highways and elsewhere throughout this state shall be deemed to have expressed such person's consent to the provisions of this section.
(2)(a)(I) A person who drives a motor vehicle upon the streets and highways and elsewhere throughout this state shall be required to take and complete, and to cooperate in the taking and completing of, any test or tests of the person's breath or blood for the purpose of determining the alcoholic content of the person's blood or breath when so requested and directed by a law enforcement officer having probable cause to believe that the person was driving a motor vehicle in violation of the prohibitions against DUI, DUI per se, DWAI, or UDD.
Or at least that is how it is supposed to work. The story from ABC abcnews.go.com/... continues;
“Due to an inability to exclude a medical condition and absent confirmatory information, a DUI investigation was not conducted,” a statement from Aurora Police said. “No blood test was done since there was no felony committed and a blood draw could not be forced.”
Meier was demoted from the rank of agent to officer and “received a significant unpaid suspension,” the police department said, although he still remains employed.
In an internal email to the Aurora Police Department obtained by ABC News, Police Chief Nick Metz wrote on Friday: “I unequivocally stand by my decision regarding the involved officer.”
But Colorado law claims;
An officer who has probable cause to believe a person was driving under the influence will normally ask the person to take a breath or blood test to determine the person’s blood alcohol content (BAC). However, once a driver chooses either a breath or blood test, he or she typically can’t change the election. …
Barring extraordinary circumstances, an officer is supposed to make sure the driver is tested within two hours of driving.
Responding officers smell the faint odor of alcohol, the driver passed out, but do not take the measure of getting a warrant for a blood test. Did they take take him by ambulance to the ER or just let him sleep it off back at the station.
“I know cops are human beings. You are not perfect. You are exposed to higher levels of stress and trauma than the general public will ever truly understand,” Metz wrote. “We all know that trauma, suicide and substance abuse continue to be huge problems in our profession.”
Aurora City Manager Jim Twombly called on former U.S. Attorney John Walsh to review the Aurora Police Department’s handling of the case. He said the results of the investigation will be released to the public.
Any bets as to the outcome of this investigation? Colorado law also reads;
Any person who is dead or unconscious shall be tested to determine the alcohol or drug content of the person's blood or any drug content within such person's system as provided in this section. If a test cannot be administered to a person who is unconscious, hospitalized, or undergoing medical treatment because the test would endanger the person's life or health, the law enforcement agency shall be allowed to test any blood, urine, or saliva that was obtained and not utilized by a health care provider and shall have access to that portion of the analysis and results of any tests administered by such provider that shows the alcohol or drug content of the person's blood, urine, or saliva or any drug content within the person's system. Such test results shall not be considered privileged communications, and the provisions of section 13-90-107, C.R.S ., relating to the physician-patient privilege shall not apply.
The police did not need permission t get a blood test because of the circumstance. They had probable cause and let the brother skate when he should have been tested and likely arrested.