Can a KY cop pull you over and make you take a sobriety test just because you pulled out a bar after following you?

Business 3 views 2 answers
The cop followed me from my place of employment at a local bar, than I went through MC Donalds to grab a bite to eat and the cop circled the McDonalds three times waited in a parking lot with another officer than when I pulled out was right back on me and two minutes down the road pulled me over, after asking for mine and my vechile information he than asked me " Did you just pull out of the bar?" I answered Yes I am the bartender. He than asked me three times in a row if I had been drinking and I had not and told him that, he than had another officer give me a field sobriety test by the time this was all done I now had three cops cars behind me and five cops standing around me, I am a 4'11 120lb girl who was not drunk and it was almost two am is this legal?

Attorney Answers

2
Frank Mascagni IIICriminal Defense AttorneyLouisville, KYKY licensed ·
Police must have what lawyers call "probable cause" to arrest a citizen for a crime. Some traffic stops have been justified by a reasonable articulatable suspicion by the police that a crime has been committed or that criminal activity is afoot. From your post, I assume you were not arrested nor cited with DUI. If you were charged, your attorney can challenge the stop as illegal without probable cause and in violation of your 4th amendment rights. You would have the right at a pretrial hearing to examine the police as to why you were pulled over and the judge would decide if the facts were adequate to justify the stop. Most citations include facts justifying the stop (speeding, weaving in the road, driving recklessly, failure to put on turn signal, etc.) to justify the real reason they wanted to stop the car, to check for a drunk driver. This is especially true after closing time near a bar. Consult with a local attorney in your area who practices criminal defense law for a review and advice.
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Royce Bishop ·
Maybe they thought you were cute and it sounds like they were checking you out but played it off like they were doing their job. yes they can do that, but it was stupid and ridiculous. You could write to the police chief or captain (especially if it was 5 male cops) and explain that drunk driving is bad, but none of the cops bothered to go or call your manager and ask if you really are the bartender or ask you for an employee ID or employee paycheck . . . especially if they took over 30 minutes to do a simple field sobriety test. You are 4'11" and your center of gravity is 2 feet or less off the ground and you were probably a cheeleader or gymnast and would not have lost your balance anyway. dummies.
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