Woman w/MS arrested for DUI when she hadn't been drinking

[agate]

Years ago there was a card people with MS could carry that listed some symptoms, with an emphasis on the types of symptoms that might be mistaken for drunkenness. It's incidents like this one that make that card seem like a good idea--though in this case I doubt that the officers would have paid any attention to it as the woman told them several times about her MS--From the Providence Journal (February 11, 2019)--"Woman Diagnosed with MS Sues Coventry Police over DUI Arrest":

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I'd like to know how the officers figure that a blood alcohol content test of 0.000 can be recorded as "BAC unknown."

[Lazarus]

Quite a story! Sounds like her lawyer is on top of the case and sees all the implications.

[nuthatch]

Broken tailight, crossing over the center line, driving erratically, slurred speech, constricted pupils, can't pass a field sobriety test. All that's missing is the smell of booze, but then narcotics use is a possibility too. A breathalyzer test wouldn't catch drug use and I assume breathalyzer equipment could malfunction, not to mention the fact all disabled folks and those with MS can also drink and use poor judgment. Can you really blame the police? A large part of their job, to keep drunk drivers from killing innocent people!

It sounds like the police were playing it safe by taking her in for a blood alcohol test. Too bad they handcuffed her, but in this day and age, police are a bit paranoid with reason.
It is quite possible this woman should no longer be driving. Too many people continue to drive when they shouldn't, until a serious accident happens. It's a bit late, then.

Nooseneck Hill Road??? Sounds like many bad things have happened there! Who names a road that??!!

[agate]

I have no doubt that there are a lot of people so impaired by MS that they shouldn't be driving, but, like many senior citizens with impairments and other people with impairments, driving is so important to them that they simply won't admit that they have a problem.

I'm not blaming the police--just wondering why this woman had to go to jail when her lab test results showed no alcohol or drugs. Seems harsh to me. But yes, it's good that they're being careful about catching up with dangerous drivers.

[Pegakafarmgirl]

its just a sad state of affairs, when this happens,,maybe its a wake up call for her,,,

[agate]

And maybe we should carry those cards letting people know what weird things might be going on with us, having nothing to do with alcohol or drugs usually.

[Virginia]

I agree that we should have cards. This is the main reason that I stopped having even one glass of wine. I was afraid that if I was stopped for something that anyone could be stopped for that something like this could happen. I was also afraid that if I was in an accident that wasn't even my fault that this could happen.

I am sure she felt very degraded being putting in handcuffs, weather she should have been driving or not.

[nuthatch]

It sounds like she was held as long as it took to process her on the suspected (pending lab results) DUI charge and give her a ticket. Once they got the labs, all charges were dropped.

The officers placed her under arrest and had her car towed as they drove her to the police station in handcuffs. She was held in the holding area and then taken to Kent Hospital for a blood test to screen for alcohol and drugs, the suit says. The blood test kit was later sent to the state Department of Health for analysis.
They returned her to the station afterward, where they put her in a cell as they processed her on a charge of driving under the influence “BAC unknown” and issued her a citation from a laned roadway violation. The blood test later came back negative for alcohol and illegal drugs, the suit says.





Diamante appeared in District Court July 18 for arraignment, accompanied by a lawyer. Weeks later, the town dismissed the drunken driving charge as well as the traffic citation.

Now she sues in this sue-happy world!

[Virginia]

I will admit Nuthatch that people will sue over the slightest things sometimes, if they think there is even a little bit of money there.

[funnylegs4]

I don't blame the cops at all either. Good cops just do the best they can in a given situation. However I have heard of other stories similar to this. There was one guy who was mistaken for being drunk because he was slurring very badly when in reality he was having a stroke and the cops did not recognize it so he died. I have heard of a person with Cerebral Palsy who was mistaken for being drunk and the cop slammed him against the cop car because the cop did not realize his involuntary movement was from spasticity. I'v also heard of diabetics getting low blood sugar symptoms mistaken for being drunk and/or having their insulin needles and other diabetic supplies mistaken for illegal drugs so when I used to watch "Live PD" I was glad to see those cops ask if the people they pulled over had diabetes or neurologic problems before doing the sobriety test. I know disabled people who are newly learning to drive have to pass a medical exam before being allowed to drive and I know people who have strokes have to be tested after the stroke before driving. Disabled people must be patient with cops because cops are not medically trained(except CPR and some basic stuff like helping a pregnant person) and cops need to be more aware of symptoms.

My friend who is diabetic has a med alert bracelet. Can their med alert bracelet be used the same way the MS card you mention was used for? I know some disabled people also have an access symbol right on the license plate. Can that help if they are pulled over?

[agate]

I don't know about the license plate but I've had a Medic Alert bracelet since 1980 that states that I have MS. It gives my blood type and says I'm "diabetic not on insulin." That's about all there's room for. When I filled out the form for it, they ask specific questions but since the tag is fairly small, they probably can't go into detail about what kinds of symptoms a person has. Many people don't know one neurological disease from another, and as you say cops aren't medically trained. I doubt that they can be expected to study up on which neurological disorders cause which symptoms.

And of course someone could lie in order to get out of a DUI charge by saying MS is causing the slurred speech or uneven gait or whatever, but this woman had quite a bit of evidence she'd presented.

I believe they give a breathalyzer test on the spot, and she had one of those, showed no alcohol, and later had the lab work done, also showing no alcohol. But maybe I don't understand. Maybe there are false negatives quite often.

[Lazarus]

I don't know about the license plate but I've had a Medic Alert bracelet since 1980 that states that I have MS. It gives my blood type and says I'm "diabetic not on insulin." That's about all there's room for. When I filled out the form for it, they ask specific questions but since the tag is fairly small, they probably can't go into detail about what kinds of symptoms a person has. Many people don't know one neurological disease from another, and as you say cops aren't medically trained. I doubt that they can be expected to study up on which neurological disorders cause which symptoms.

And of course someone could lie in order to get out of a DUI charge by saying MS is causing the slurred speech or uneven gait or whatever, but this woman had quite a bit of evidence she'd presented.

I believe they give a breathalyzer test on the spot, and she had one of those, showed no alcohol, and later had the lab work done, also showing no alcohol. But maybe I don't understand. Maybe there are false negatives quite often.

There don’t have to be false negatives. We just do not know the details. So we know the story told in the paper which leaves us with the outline and not the full essay! That’s why my first comment was that it was quite a story and that it sounds like her lawyer is following through.

She may have been treated logically, she may have had other influences besides alcohol or MS or there could have been something in the road she was avoiding. We will never know how it plays out but we can notice the issue and think of our own situations.

[funnylegs4]

I don't know about the license plate but I've had a Medic Alert bracelet since 1980 that states that I have MS. It gives my blood type and says I'm "diabetic not on insulin." That's about all there's room for. When I filled out the form for it, they ask specific questions but since the tag is fairly small, they probably can't go into detail about what kinds of symptoms a person has. Many people don't know one neurological disease from another, and as you say cops aren't medically trained. I doubt that they can be expected to study up on which neurological disorders cause which symptoms.

And of course someone could lie in order to get out of a DUI charge by saying MS is causing the slurred speech or uneven gait or whatever, but this woman had quite a bit of evidence she'd presented.

I believe they give a breathalyzer test on the spot, and she had one of those, showed no alcohol, and later had the lab work done, also showing no alcohol. But maybe I don't understand. Maybe there are false negatives quite often.

Thanks! Very true! I saw a bunch of people on "Live PD" pretend to have medical conditions to get out of DUI charges and of course later they were found to have drunk WAY MORE than the legal limit so I can totally see the cops logic here. What cops have to put up with is truly amazing. I would just think something official like a Med Alert would at least help somewhat.

[agate]

The handicap placard she had in her car didn't matter much at all apparently even though she called attention to it. The card might have helped if it was clearly coming from some "official" source.

I've found the card information:

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If you look at the .pdf file there, a sample of the card is shown. It lists several major MS symptoms, and several of them are the kind of thing that could be mistaken for alcohol intoxication. It does cost $10 and require doctor verification--and the form has to be downloaded, printed, and sent to the Rocky Mountain MS Center.

I'm going to get one of these (I think I had one years ago) even though I don't drive. It might come in handy in other situations too.