Posted by smithjc on August 24, 2007 at 8:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)

he is being treated like everybody else, rubio. he being treated as "innocent until proven guilty". if found guilty of felony dui, he is likely to lose his job, as convicted felons are unable to hold positions as peace officers in california. if he's lucky, they may allow him to retire from the dept. he will still have to face the criminal charges after that.

so, unlike most people, he faces not only the criminal sanctions, but also the loss of his livelihood. how many other people do you know that could lose their careers over something like this?

Posted by Lost on August 24, 2007 at 8:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)

If you honestly think the DA's office is going to charge this man with a felony your kidding yourself. He works at the court house! The department says they're doing an internal investigation, but what will really happen is they will wait to ensure the DA only does the minimum and then wash their hands of it. Afterall... he is a 24 year Sergeant.

Posted by sunnbear on August 24, 2007 at 9:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)

You would think that someone in his position would have seen the terrible things that come from DUI. Lives lost and destroyed. He, of all people, should know better! He should be treated to the maximum sentance possible. He is very fortunate that nobodys lives were destroyed. He may lose his job? Boo, freakin' Hoo!

Posted by Face on August 24, 2007 at 9:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Why should he be treated differently than Nicole Richie? Not sure a DUI is a felony where one loses the right to gun ownership and to vote... but he should not spend more than the 82 minutes Nicole Richie spent in jail. I beleive in equal justice, but that does not exist.

Posted by drshocker on August 24, 2007 at 10:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)

well lets see.....he who is without sin cast the first stone.....no wait innocent until proven guilty.....now wait the poor guy made a mistake....DUI is not a felony charge yet in Ventura County........Misdemeanor yes but not a felony......unfortunately for those involved Ventura County does not believe in innocent until proven guilty for DUIs.....for those who are unaware a DUI is 2500ish in fines and fees loss of license for 30 days and then added insurance for the next three years as well as probation.....these are the second worse fines in the state.....followed only by marine county.....

Posted by sslocal on August 24, 2007 at 10:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

Posted by ahcd on August 24, 2007 at 11:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I don't think anyone will be as hard on this officer as he will be on himself.
We are all human and we will make mistakes regardless of our position in life. It's what we do with those mistakes that counts, and it is never too late to do the next right thing. I wish him well.

Posted by imbetnonit on August 24, 2007 at 12:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)

WHATEVER! How hard is it to get drunk at home or let your wife drive (if she's not drunk). If his wife wasn't drunk, just imagine the stress she was under, going 70 mph, and probably telling him to slow down!
When you get caught red handed, being innocent until proven guilty is just BS. It just wastes time and tax payers money until the attorney can come up with some lame excuse.
If you can't drink without being an a**, don't drink. It's very simple.

Posted by LIVEandLEARN on August 24, 2007 at 12:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

What is this, aren't the officers the ones who are supposed to stop people from driving under the influence and causing accidents? Not be the ones getting stopped for driving under the influence or getting in accidents? I understand people make mistakes, but when your job is to punish the ones making those mistakes, and then you go and do it yourself, thats a little devious dont you think. I just hope that he gets fair punishment, and no one looks at him and says "He's a 24 year veteran of the force, we will go easy on him!" because honestly, there are other people out there with greater accomplishments, that have recieved a greater sentence than im sure anyone will ever think to give him.

Posted by smithjc on August 24, 2007 at 1:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

face99: dui is a felony when it causes injury or death to a party other than the intoxicated driver, in this case the sgt's wife. (if the u.i driver only hurts him/herself, no one much cares). that said, it's up to the d.a. to file it and prove it. the wife may or may not refuse to testify against her husband. that could have an effect on the outcome of the case. she can't be compelled to testify against him.

i'm not defending his alleged actions, dui is way up there on my list of heinous crimes. i do think that he should get the same courtesy that is extended to all other defendants under our laws, that is, of course, the belief that he is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

for the one who thought that arresting another officer is a big "no-no", this is ventura county. i've seen many officers from many departments arrested for dui, including (well, i'm not gonna go there, no point in rehashing that one). in ventura county, we even arrest (and convict) judges for dui.

oh, liveandlearn, it's not his job to punish those "making mistakes", it's his job to bring them before the court, so the court can determine if the "mistake" has been made, and, if so, what the appropriate punishment is.

Posted by sunnbear on August 24, 2007 at 2:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Getting drunk and driving your car is NOT a mistake. It is a choice that the person makes, impared or not, and he then needs to learn to live with the consiquences.

Posted by rhondatuttle2002 on August 24, 2007 at 11:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

its is actually not what you know it's who you know. And that is the sad Ventura county way.
Make this guy go do 1 year of alocholics anomonus also just like any other drunk.

Posted by spokenit on August 25, 2007 at 8:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Mantiger808,,, a little harsher then most. I am wondering how many stripes you have or whats on your nose? Get real do you even know him or his wife? Protection order? You are a man on a mission and you use your badge to do it. I am NOT saying what he did is right but you sound like a highschool nerd turned cop, out for revenge. What agency, if you dont mind stating.

Posted by imbetnonit on August 25, 2007 at 10:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I agree with mantiger. Officers of the law or court should be held to a higher standard, at the very least they should be law abiding citizens. I'm willing to bet that ride was hell for his wife. There is no reason to go 70 mph on any road in this county, unless you are trying to terrorize your passenger. He was lucky no one was killed. I hope this blessing effects him in a positive way.

Posted by sog55 on August 25, 2007 at 10:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I highly doubt mantiger808 is a cop. First of all if you have arrested "MANY" cops for DUI"s you wouldn't be a cop for 30 years thats for sure! It's obvious what will happen here...nothing! 24 year veteran,works for the courts...come on! And another thing if you talk to a cop whose been on the force for 30 years they just don't seem to have that kind of naive outlook. Get real!

Posted by sog55 on August 25, 2007 at 10:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)

imbetnonit why do you think he was terrorizing his wife ? how do you know she wasn't drunk? how do you know she wasn't telling him to go faster? how do you know what was going on in that car? where do you get that from? some of you people are really strange with your comments. Hopefully I don't get censored for saying strange!

Posted by Ventura22 on August 25, 2007 at 4:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)

It's big news this weekend but it will be forgotten by next week, as always. Someone else will come along and outdo what he did, attracting all the attention and comments. See how many of you will remember this guys name in 30 days. he's gettign treated like any other drunk driver would. They book them, then release them when they are sober enough to leave the jail. He gets a court date, like anyone else. His case is not a felony; no deaths, evading officers or hit-and-run involved. He'll most likely plea-out to a misdemeanor DUI charge or reckless driving and if it's his first offense, like with anyone else, he'll get the standard spanking(suspend license, fine, corty fees, driving school, alcohol program...). If this is not his first DUI arrest, then the penalties will reflect that with stiffer sanctions, like with anyone else. Obviously, he's a desk jockey in the courthouse, not a patrol deputy so his job description no longer requires him to operate county vehicles. He will probably get some unpaid time-off work to get his crap together, then be allowed to return to bailiff duty as before. Although I think the embarassment of having to face his coworkers, and the court staff every work day would most likely prompt him to go ahead and retire-out.
I hardly think he's "going to walk". He gets treated like everyone else and that's how it should be, period! He made some poor choices and now he has to live with them, like anyone else would.

Posted by sog55 on August 25, 2007 at 5:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

You know you might be right...because he is a desk jockey maybe that will be the outcome. something just doesn't seem right? These officers just don't arrest eachother even it is a DUI. I know people who have been let go by the police for the same offense just by mentioning a name of an officer whom they're related to. So its rare that this guy is even being arrested much less in the paper. When was the last time you've heard of this kind of thing happening?

Posted by imbetnonit on August 25, 2007 at 9:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)

sogg55, have you ever known an adult woman, drinking or not, tell her husband to go faster?

(If you have, that would be strange). (ha ha)

Posted by gramagracie on August 26, 2007 at 8:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)

No comment on this subject...but want to know:"DONDE ESTA EL LOBO ? Wolfie keeps getting censored!! What gives?

Posted by imbetnonit on August 26, 2007 at 12:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Well I've had more than 30 years experience as a wife (and a woman), mantiger. And I am pretty certain that a woman who is married to an officer of the law is not the kind of woman who is going to say: go faster! (duh)

Posted by AnnaWhaat on August 26, 2007 at 5:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)

smithjc ,I agree and were all human and were gonna mess up! But did this guy really stop and think before getting behind the wheel? Is this something of the norm for him and his wife to go out and half drinks and he drives home? I hope he has enough retirement hours in.......cause its looking bad on him.
smithjc ,Great Comment and Im glad you pointed that out about the felony part. Some just dont get it.
Face99 ,Being convicted of a felony and being a felon are two different things. Felons are not allowed to vote. Some of them depending on the crime can still own a gun...........Just FYI....
mantiger8O8,I just dont understand why you would feel the wife would need a protection order? Unless he was violent towards her and made her get into the car? Other then that they may have a great relationship and she may have been more then willing to get in??????
sog55,No I agree with you! That other comment was a bit overboard ............
sog55,Your absolutely right...no telling how many have been let go......My sister use to wear her husbands badge necklace he got around her neck and the sticker on her car and she was let go all the time. Of course it wasn't for DUI's maybe a bit of going over the speed limit is all.
imbetnonit ,Well I think just used that as a example.......... she probably didn't . BUT come on to get a protection order? They may have had the perfect marriage....... Why would she need that?

Posted by prayfamily on August 27, 2007 at 7:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I hope he gets off scott free... Just like the Ventura County DA has done for all the others they have lost cases on.

Posted by mantiger808 on August 27, 2007 at 8:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Somebody is using my login name to write stupid and untrue accounts. this is crazy...I have an idea who it is. Grow Up! I have not commented on this issue and I surely don't have 30 years on the job. Don't berlieve what you read on this post because it obviously can be manipulated by some jealous wanna-be!

Posted by mantiger808 on August 27, 2007 at 8:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)

To the monitors of this post: I would like to know how someone can post a comment using my screen name!? They have posted ignorant untrue statements about my experience and posted opinions that are ridiculously written. I am a retired police officer with over 20 years of experience and have only arrested one officer in my career and that was for drug and weapon charges, not DUI. To the wanna be that is using my name...nice try but you can't phase me with your immature antics. The people that know me laugh at you like the small gnat that you are.

Posted by OPD_Wolfie on August 27, 2007 at 9:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)

AhhhhhhhhhhhhWooooooooooo

Gracie my dear. Wolfie is just chillin' and reading all this stuff while Code 5

AhhhhhhhhhWoooooooooooooo

Posted by mantiger808 on August 27, 2007 at 9:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Okay, I figured it out...mantiger8o8 is using the letter "o" instead of the number "0". Clever (not!) There is only one mantiger808 and as a retired police officer, I just say that this deputy didn't make a mistake, he chose to drive under the influence and had an accident that resulted in the injury of an innocent party. It could have been much worse. He is facing a felony charge because of the injury and will lose his job if convicted because, obviously, felons can't possess guns. he will now see the criminal justice system from the other side, which starts with the premises, "innocent until proven guilty".
sog55, you are correct. mantiger8o8 is not a cop. He is a jealous wanna-be who has tried to confuse readers and corrupt my name.

Posted by OPD_Wolfie on August 27, 2007 at 9:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Gracie...........

Are you Dano's woman?

Wolfie is very fond of Dano.

Posted by AnnaWhaat on August 27, 2007 at 10:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Mantiger808,if I were you I would write to the moderator to tell them what is happening. And they can have the other person create another name. ? Just a thought........

Posted by imbetnonit on August 27, 2007 at 11:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Somebody needs to get a life............and their own moniker. (I did like the new name he gave me-imwetnonit. Maybe I'll change my name to that). ha ha

Posted by RC on August 27, 2007 at 1:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)

mantiger808, you should have been a detective since you figured that one out

Posted by RC on August 27, 2007 at 1:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)

he should have called a taxi. It would have been a lot cheaper

Posted by gramagracie on August 27, 2007 at 2:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Wolfie,

Yes, I be dANO's woman. I am very fond of dANO too!! Are you chillin in Cali or somewhere else?

Posted by spellcaster4442004 on August 27, 2007 at 3:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)

the fact that he was allowed out on his own recognizance already shows favoritism, Any one else who gets a felony DUI has to post bail.....
the judge will reduce to a misdemeanor if not throw it out on a technicality

Posted by OPD_Wolfie on August 27, 2007 at 4:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Gracie my love.........

You know Wolfie cannot give any clues as to his identity. Wolfie knows that you are a smart lady and any clues could give me away.. Nice try my love.

BTW..... How is Dano doing? Wolfie recall some good times with my man Dano.

Posted by gramagracie on August 27, 2007 at 5:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Wofie, our secret LOBO, can't blame a gal for trying..you still have many of us guessing..got a million yet?

dANO is doing great..loves cruzin the Colorado River..10-7 is a sweet life..as you well know.

Best always to you O'great one.

Posted by SafeConduct on September 2, 2007 at 6:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)

How "drunk" was he? Lot's of information missing from the article. Do you know what your own behavior is like at .08? The only way to know is to test. So if you are someone who has said they would never drive drunk but you have never tested, how do you know you haven't? Because you weren't showing the common signs and symptoms? He was speeding but did you know that does not indicate impairment as it takes more coordination to drive fast? Was his speech slurred? Was he staggering? No one I have tested has had these signs at .08 (The illegal limit). I read in a story about Paris's arrest that she was arrested for the lowest possible level at .08. Not true and misleading. I have heard officers say they will arrest at .04 and up. How can they say that? They can because there is no level specified in the DUI law itself and many people get convicted of one at less than .08 every year. Check the White Paper. Driving with a BAC of .08 or higher is a whole other law and if there is a level of .08 or higher that will likely be another charge. Keep in mind that the level tested isn't necessarily the level at the time of driving. It can be anytime within 3 hours. One drink before leaving can raise a BAC by .029 per one research article I read. The idea of "one drink or two drinks" is useless anyway because part of the truth in calculating a level at the time of driving or otherwise is the variable of how much pure alcohol is involved.

Posted by SafeConduct on September 2, 2007 at 6:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Different alcohol content of beers, wines, and mixed drinks plus variability in volume. 30 min. to 45 min. (45 with food)is often used as part of the formula for length of time to get into a person's system but this can vary widely. The consequences are huge for even a .001 rise depending on what the level was at the time of driving. The devices at the roadside such as the Alcosenor IV will give you varying results because of physiological factors and tests are only required to be within .02 of each other to be considered accurate. You can have a preliminary alcohol screening test of .060 and one at .080 and you will be subject to all of the consequences for driving with a BAC over .079. Alcohol related accidents account for 38% according to the NHTSA. More crashes involve no alcohol but if you have any on board, can you imagine how that will affect opinion about responsibility? Two glasses of wine, a crash, and an injury can be devastating. Someone is going to be responsible. It's the way this society works. Helps to keep everything making sense to us that we aren't like that guy over there going through a bad situation. Helps if we feel he somehow earned it. People are ready to believe in this Sheriff’s case that he is guilty for the simple facts of presumably alcohol in his system and a crash. You see how little it takes to point the finger? That is all we really know from this article isn't it? We don't know a BAC level or results of field sobriety testing.

Posted by SafeConduct on September 2, 2007 at 6:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)

By the way how would you know if you were even given the proper instructions for field sobriety testing? Field sobriety tests are not conclusive and can have so many false variables introduced to be useless. I have not seen them given properly once on COPS or other similar shows. The tests are divided attention tests meaning you have to follow instructions as well as perform the physical portion. If an officer decides in the expedition of time or other more self serving reason that they are going to modify the instructions their interpretation now is not a researched one learned in their training but their own subjective opinion. A professor did some research and video taped his students performing field sobriety tests sober. He then showed them to law enforcement officers and based on their observations all the students would have been arrested. An officer can't distinguish between neuromusculoskeletal diseases
nor should they be expected to it would be impossible to screen for these in the field. Hard to do a lumbar puncture, genetic testing, or and MRI on the side of the road. When an arrest is made and the report is written to recommend prosecution for a DUI or driving with a BAC over .08 do you really think it is going to say you were arrested because you have multiple sclerosis, Charcot Marie Tooth's disease, or knee surgery's? You need to know if you can do the scientifically validated tests of horizontal gaze nystagmus, one leg stand, and heel toe walking at minimum at your baseline. If you can't for whatever reason you are likely to be arrested. There is research that shows delayed tracking occurring at .02 which is an important part driving behavior. Many driving skills are shown to be impaired at .05 which is illegal level in many countries. All this research gets used to prosecute a person agree with it or not.

Posted by SafeConduct on September 2, 2007 at 6:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

That rising blood alcohol defense? Pete Coors of the Coors Corporation had a very under reported BAC of .07 in his driveway with a breath test then later tested in the .08 range with blood. The DA may have his expert witness claim that a standard beer (an expert's unit of measure, not an average beer) could not have caused the rise over .08 at the time of testing because one beer would not have been enough. Well sure, but try to find a 3% 12oz beer at a bar or restaurant in CA. Can you name a 3.0% beer in this state? Amstel light is pretty close but couldn't be considered average .Budweiser, Coors, and Corona are 5% Sierra Nevada 5.6% some are even 10%. Most restaurants serve 14, 16, or 22oz as their small drafts. The law says you have to prove that you had a lower level at the time of driving, "Rebutable Presumption". Remember innocent until proven guilty? Not in these cases. It's the same with DUI impairment that maybe cause by a medical condition. You have to prove it was the condition not the alcohol. A .08 or requires a person to prove this twice. To the DMV at a hearing without a jury and in court with a jury or suffer the consequences of a driving with a BAC of .08 or higher. How are you going to prove this imagining that you are a person who just found out how low .08 really is and you finished that drink just before you left. How many times have you taken video footage of the brands, exact volumes, and the drinking of the drink just before you left? Forget about.

Posted by SafeConduct on September 2, 2007 at 6:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The NHTSA is of the opinion that the way to reduce DUI rates is to prosecute. They can't seem to figure out that if you educate you can reduce the need to prosecute and prevent more accidents which one would hope is the true goal. Most people are very surprised that there level is so close or over .08 when I test them for education at an event or party.

The slogans used are misleading.
"Drunk driving. Over the limit. Under arrest."
This should be, "Driking driving. Under or over the limit. It's up to us."

"Buzzed driving is drunk driving" should be "Driving with any alcohol can be drunk driving"

"You drink. You drive. You lose." That one I wouldn't change.

Last year an officer around the time of New Year's was quoted as saying the only way to avoid a DUI is to drive stone cold sober. I wonder how many understood the truth in what he said.