LAWYER: 5 Favorite Tricks Cops Use During DWI Stops

You should never drink and drive, but you can still get pulled over when you're sober. If an officer suspects you of DWI, here's what they are hunting for and how they trick you into incriminating yourself.

Free Guides:

00:00 5 Tricks Cops Use During A DWI Stop
00:14 – 5 Tricks Cops Use During A DWI Stop
01:30 – Can You Ignore The Officer? Be Rude?
02:23 – Never Argue With The Officer!
03:27 – DWI Requires Proof Of “Intoxication”
03:50 – Admit To Drinking?
04:54 – Physical Signs Of “Intoxication”
05:57 – Mental Signs of “Intoxication"
06:24 – What If You Are Just Nervous?
06:52 – Field Sobriety Tests – Consent Or Refuse??
07:00 – What Happens If You Refuse?
09:01 – What Happens If You Refuse Field Sobriety Tests?
10:36 – What If You Have Physical Limitations?
11:12 – ALWAYS Say You Are Nervous If You Choose To Cooperate!
12:06 – Portable Breath Tests?
13:15 – What If You Refuse?
14:44 – The DWI Officer’s Opinion Matters In Court

[rmdodsonbills]

I was on a DWI jury once and the defense attorney suggested we do our own walk and turn test in the jury room. Each and every one of us failed it. That plus the fact that the officers both testified that the nystagmus test only meant that the defendant had been drinking and not that he was impaired. The jury instructions very specifically said and both lawyers agreed that the standard was impairment. So if nystagmus isn't evidence of impairment and 6 perfectly sober jurors all failed the walk and turn, we acquitted for reasonable doubt.

[MaydayAggro]

A kid was arrested for DUI because he forgot to stop his steps at nine. He blew 0.00, and the blood test came back negative. At the time of the arrest, he said "You are going to regret doing this because you KNOW I am sober." He then won a settlement in a lawsuit and forced the cop to apologize.

[markatkinson]

I just served on a jury about 2 weeks ago and this was exactly what happened. Fortunately for the driver, we believed that the officer made a bad stop and tripped this guy up. Found not guilty. Didn't even ask him if he had been drinking? All those dirty little tricks, they did. This is a great video and a lesson to be learned. Don't drink and drive people.

[Swervin]

Remember, folks: You can't talk your way out of an arrest, but you CAN talk your way into a conviction.

[MrDibbons]

When attending the California Highway Patrol Academy in 1982-83 (Bryte, California) we were taught not to use the term "failed" the test but rather to use the wording "did not perform the test as demonstrated". I resigned from the South Los Angeles CHP Office within a year when it became apparent I was the most honest officer on the job, which caused personality conflicts with some other officers not so forthright as myself (LOL).

[christarwitch]

I was pulled over in Anaheim CA while on vacation some years back. I was pulled over on an empty highway and told it was because I was drifting in my lane. The lanes all have rumble strips to alert you if you do. Never drifted far enough to hit them. They asked a bunch of questions. I complied. Admitted to drinking and told them how many drinks I had and over how much time. I was asked to do a field sobriety test. I never asked them to repeat instructions and performed all of the tasks well. I passed. I was specific and brief whenever I answered questions. They then asked me to take a breathalyzer. I asked what would happen if I refused. They said they would just arrest me right now. I said, "Well then, I will submit to taking the breathalyzer." I blew below the legal limit. Almost half. Nothing more to say, right?. They still gave me a hard time and said they were hesitant to let me go. Umm... what? Why are we still talking?

[INFERNO]

As a wise man once said, "It's no longer a sobriety test, it's an agility test and I'm gonna fail that."

[readytogarden]

Several years ago I got pulled over, for driving an ugly car in a fancy neighborhood. I hadn't been drinking and I don't do drugs. I had negative breathalyzer. They pulled me out for field test. I failed it. Went to jail they forced to to take a blood draw. I sat in jail a few hours . They released me. I took a cab back to my car. When court time came suprise suprise. The blood results didn't make it to court. This went on several times before the jidge dismissed the case. Crooked crooked police.. Temecula California

[scotblair]

"Everything you say is an audition for an arrest." 😂 That's brilliant!

[justinmiller]

You don't need any violations to fail a test. You can do everything perfectly and they just say you failed.

[willwilburn]

I chuckle out loud and say "I haven't had a drink of alcohol in over 25 years, pretty sure I could not be intoxicated from a drink I had 25 years ago". That takes the wind out of their sails every time.

[charlesbaldo]

I was pulled over recently and told the officer I had Covid and was returning from the pharmacy. He couldn't let me go fast enough

[thenikonnomad]

A friend of mine in California got pulled over a few months ago, 68 yrs old, they did roadside sobriety test despite his age and disabilties, and he passed, then they used a breathalizer, passed that, and they arrested him anyhow, locked him up overnight, no phone call, turned him loose next day and dropped all charges. I told him he should sue but he's scared of them and what they'll do if he does.

[sogosensei]

Being a former officer I can tell you with great confidence, this guy has it nailed. Every test's failure/pass is up to the officer's judgement and they're told when they're trained ... any deviation during the test even to the slightest gesture or millimeter gets counted as a fail.
If they ask you to step out of the vehicle, they're motivation is to take you to jail. Nothing else. Provide your license and proof of insurance, then invoke your 5th Amendment Right.
Consent to NOTHING.
Worst case scenario you have to go to jail, get processed and bail out. While that is traumatic enough within itself and usually only amounts to a few hours, it's better than having the false facts stacked against you almost ensuring a conviction later on. Any good attorney will tell you precisely what this guy is saying.

So listen up good.

[markmcsw]

This was an excellent video. I was a public defender in Missouri for 5 years and had a lot of those cases, and every police report for DWI had those catchphrases. "I smelled the odor of an alcoholic beverage on or about his person...slurred speech...
bloodshot, watery eyes." The only way to challenge a report like this is to not drink/be drunk and then drive, and even then you may be taken in. On the other hand, if you really are drunk, you're screwed. The funniest police report I ever saw was one where the officer asked the person to say the alphabet and he replied "A, B, C, D, oh shit I'm drunk."

[DennisBraspenninx]

Practically every officer will attest, off the record, that the field sobriety test cannot be passed by anyone at any time. I failed one, was arrested, taken to lock up, had mug shots taken, my car was impounded, and I tested stone cold sober.

[JTEllis]

Good information in this video. I've been a retired cop for 24 years. Field sobriety testing came along in the latter years of my career. I never had any training on using them and didn't try to. On any traffic stop, be polite to the cop it goes a long way. And if a young cop asks you to recite the alphabet backward as part of a sobriety test. I would say go ahead, your lawyer will love you for it. Because when he gets to court, he is going to ask the cop to do it in front of the judge. And my best piece of advice is if you are going to have a drink and drive. Stop at one drink. Or better still, don't drink at all.

[phillhuddleston]

I had a cop use pull me over and it was taking a long time to run my plates so I looked in the rear view mirror a few times to see if he was done and coming back because it was winter and I had my engine shut off. He came back and asked to search my car for drugs, I asked why and he said I was acting suspicious because I kept looking in my rear view mirror. They will use anything as an excuse so don't make it easy for them.

[solo]

I took the field sobriety test and when the cop decided to place me under arrest I asked him if I failed it, he said I barely passed 😂. I said isn’t it pass/fail? Then he offered to drive me home, pass or fail, if I took the breathalyzer. I couldn’t get off the fact that he said I “barely passed”. How tf am I going to trust him to take me home if I took the breathalyzer. I refused, he arrested me and it cost me 7k and a plea deal for a lesser charge. My lawyer said it was all about money. Oh one last important piece of info is the arresting officer was a friend of my ex gf. I don’t live in a small enough place for that to be a coincidence.

[IggyStardust]

"Everything you say is an audition for an arrest."
What a way to put that. Perfectly sums it up.