Man with Cerebral Palsy Falsely Arrested for Being Drunk

The main thing this guy did wrong was calling the cops after hitting a dog ... never call the cops on yourself over an accident! Or to help with anything else for that matter. At least they didn't beat or tase him, so maybe the cops can be given a pass on mistaking his cerebral palsy symptoms for being drunk. However, according to the story they STILL tried to force him to plead guilty to the charge, even though a blood test showed that he had no alcohol in his system . That just shows how corrupt the whole system is.


[link to www.dailyjournal.net]

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A Lenoir City man has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the Loudon County sheriff after he said he was mistakenly arrested when deputies mistook his cerebral palsy symptoms for drunkenness.

SNIP

The lawsuit said that Palmer reported to police that he had accidentally struck a dog that darted in front of his pickup truck in May 2010. Police reported that Palmer was unsteady on his feet, had slurred speech and had difficultly performing field sobriety tests. Palmer said in his lawsuit that he tried to explain these were conditions of his cerebral palsy.

Palmer was taken to a hospital to have blood drawn and booked into the Loudon County jail on a charge of drunken driving. His brother posted bond about four hours later.

SNIP

Lab results from his blood test showed no alcohol, only medications he was taking for his cerebral palsy. However, despite the lab results, Palmer claimed in the lawsuit that prosecutors still pushed the case forward and tried to get him to plead guilty.

Eventually the charge was dropped against Palmer, said Herbert Moncier, his Knoxville-based lawyer.

SNIP

Garry Palmer said the arrest has embarrassed him.

"I've never been to jail in my life," he said. "I've never been in trouble in my life."

___