Were my rights violated?

[dave33]

Oh please, stop exaggerating. Two beers over the course of a few hours is not going to cause any issues.

I'd like to see stricter BAC limits everywhere and tougher penalties for violations.

Two beers can cause an average person to be border line "legally intoxicated".

Great, stricter laws. More prisons, more people going to jail. As the laws are now in basically every state, a cop can sit outside a bar and arrest everyone. You just love that idea. Being a cop, of course you never broke any laws, right? Well, being a cop, you know never to admit it.

 

[CdwJava]

I know I shouldn't have been driving after drinking anything at all but was just completely taken aback by how quickly my night went sour. I was seriously only two blocks away from my house. I guess the officers had me tricked in the beginning by telling me that being so close, the worst that would happen would be for them to accompany me on a walk back to my house. I could not have had worst luck with the pick of the officers that had pulled me over. It was evident that they were younger than I was and straight out of high school. The new guys on the block trying to make a name for themselves. Clapping when my warrant was printed and even skipping into the hospital out of pure excitement for their success. I guess none of that is against the law but it sure as hell felt undeserved.

Young or old, they would have been derelict in their duty - indeed, may have been criminally negligent had they followed you to your house believing you to be impaired! Oh, and I seriously doubt they were "straight out of high school" since it seems that the minimum age to be a police officer in MI is 21. (However, I cannot see if this is a statewide standard as the state's certifying agency - Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) - appears to have a busted website server.) I could not find an agency that accepted anyone UNDER 21, but, there may be a couple.

You are certainly free to complain about what you see as unprofessional behavior (and if they were gleefully prancing about, I'd have to agree - not simply because it was rude, but, also because it was distracting and unnecessary).

Ultimately, had you not been drinking and driving this would not have happened.

 

[CdwJava]

It seems that tougher laws fail in almost every way. I mean the definition of a criminal is one who breaks the law. The more laws the more they get broken and the more people get caught in the system.

As far as dangerous drivers and this post are concerned, if we are to take the o.p. at his word and believe he was just above or just below the legal limit, that can and most likely does include every person leaving the bar. Is it right to have such tough criminal laws that every person that has two beers and drives home is a criminal? It seems that may be the situation here.

I would rather have an adult with two beers than a teenage driver any day.

Well, had the OP only had "two beers" (the #1 answer provided by DUI drivers of ALL intoxication levels, BTW) he would not have been at or slightly over the per se limit as he feared. Not even close.

 

[CdwJava]

Oh please, stop exaggerating. Two beers over the course of a few hours is not going to cause any issues.

I'd like to see stricter BAC limits everywhere and tougher penalties for violations.

DITTO!!!
My thoughts as well!

 

[CdwJava]

Two beers can cause an average person to be border line "legally intoxicated".

A child or a midget, maybe. An average male might reach .04 if both beers are quaffed quickly. If that's "near" .08, I guess you're right.

Great, stricter laws. More prisons, more people going to jail. As the laws are now in basically every state, a cop can sit outside a bar and arrest everyone.

Not really ... first, we need to have good cause to make the stop. If you do not drive after imbibing, then there will never BE that good cause to make the stop. East.

You just love that idea. Being a cop, of course you never broke any laws, right? Well, being a cop, you know never to admit it.

I don't think any of us ever said we NEVER broke any laws ... yeah, most of us were young and stupid once-upon-a-time. That doesn't mean we should give everyone a pass who gets caught simply because we once may have done it and got away with it. If that were the standard, then I guess we should let everyone get away with everything. I know of one perfect man, and he died about 2,015 years ago.