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No Arrest or Charges for Sheriff’s Sergeant Found Drunk in His Jeep
The video above is from the body camera of Poulsbo Officer Jennifer Corn on October 16, 2015. It came to light when the Kipsap Sun requested the footage via a Freedom of Information request. According to the Kipsap:
No outside law enforcement agency was called to the home of Sheriff’s Sgt. Jim Porter to investigate the incident the night of Oct. 16, when Poulsbo Officer Jennifer Corn found Porter parked in his driveway, outside Poulsbo city limits, after receiving reports of a possible drunken driver leaving Regal Cinemas on Edvard Street.
After hearing details of the case, an experienced DUI defense attorney said it was “ridiculous” that no arrest occurred.
In her report of the encounter, Corn wrote that she had known Porter for about 18 years. Porter is a 23-year veteran of the office and was promoted to sergeant in 2003.
Fellow Sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Dickson and Poulsbo Chief Al Townsend were called to the scene. Townsend later said Corn’s actions were appropriate given the circumstances.
From a review of Corn’s report and her body camera footage, obtained from the city by the Kitsap Sun through a public records request, it does not appear Corn asked Porter to perform voluntary field sobriety tests, did not ask him to take a voluntary field Breathalyzer, did not look in his car and did not ask whether he had taken any medications.
In fact, Corn is heard struggling with how to react and how to contain Porter, who did not follow her directions and told her to go away. Corn claimed that she did not know it was Porter until she saw him, dazed in his Jeep.
“I would like to pretend like this never happened, but I can’t,” Corn says in the footage, adding that she hoped there was nothing that would legally “stick.”
Corn did ask if he were drunk and whether he had driven, to which Porter replied “yeah” and “yes,” which is audible on Corn’s body camera footage.
Earlier that evening, at 9:25 p.m., another Poulsbo officer had contacted Porter in the parking lot of the movie theater. An employee called 911 to report a highly intoxicated man sitting in his car and had waved off a suggestion from theater customers that he not drive.
Porter refused to show the officer his identification. He also refused an offer of a ride home or a call for a cab.
While this video is not very shocking to myself it should be troubling to those who are not aware of the favoritism given to police officers. Not only should Porter be charged with DUI but Corn and the other officers should be fired for their conduct. Violations of law, department policy and more can be cited from this video evidence.
Yet, nothing of the sort will happen, as detailed by the Kipsap article:
“There was no probable cause for (Porter’s) arrest,” Corn wrote. A Public Records Act request for Sheriff’s Office documents involving the incident is pending.
Earlier that month, Oct. 5, Porter rear-ended a car that was stopped to turn left off Clear Creek Road at about 8 a.m. The two men in the car that Porter struck were not injured. Another Kitsap County sheriff’s sergeant investigated the crash, which left Porter’s patrol car badly damaged. Porter told Sgt. Michael Merrill he had come around a bend and the sun was in his eyes, according to documents released by the office.
Porter was placed on paid administrative leave Oct. 17, a day after Corn’s stop.
Kylie Purves, Poulsbo city prosecutor, did not file charges against Porter, saying in an email to the Sun that after reviewing the evidence and considering possible defenses, she did not believe an “objective and reasonable fact-finder would convict.”
Chief District Court Prosecutor Kevin Kelly said the investigation that was provided for review did not include information about field sobriety tests and other evidence gathered from drunken driving cases.
“We were kind of stuck,” Kelly said, who reviewed the case personally along with another veteran deputy prosecutor. “There wasn’t any of the evidence we typically get from a DUI investigation, because none was done here.”
Stuck?!?!? Maybe, legally, on the DUI but these same people who claim they have no charges against Porter can’t say the same for the officers. Did they violate the law? Did they violate policy? None of that is being discussed, in fact, the only person who might face repercussions from the department is Porter himself. While that’s fine and dandy the real issues here, the double standards police have, is going to be lost in any serious discussion of how to ‘correct’ this behavior.
Nevertheless the damage has been done. As I mentioned before most of the regular readers of this site won’t be shocked by this video. Yet, those of you who believe cops are not above the law, or that there are any good cops out there, now have another video to add to your collection proving NO GOOD COPS EXIST. If there was such a thing Porter would have found himself in a cage, awaiting a hearing with a judge, just like anyone else who drives drunk.
And I’d like to note that seeing a judge would have been the best case scenario for him. If Porter wouldn’t have been a cop he probably would have been tased, beaten and most certainly arrested (if not shot) for his actions that night. Telling the officers to leave, getting back into the car or refusing to comply with commands are all an officer needs to ‘fear for their lives’ and use excessive force.
But don’t believe me, just watch the video below of a man being shot in the head by police while trying to drive away drunk.
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No Arrest or Charges for Sheriff’s Sergeant Found Drunk in His Jeep is a post from Cop Block – Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights
Source: http://www.copblock.org/150755/dui-cop-no-charges/
