The old adage “honesty is the best policy” rang particularly true for one drunk driver mid-June. The 26-year-old Kentucky man claimed to have consumed a pint of beer before getting behind the wheel of his car. His brief joyride ended when he drove up to the “do not enter” side of a Hopkinsville Police post and, after nearly crashing into a police cruiser, got out of the vehicle and approached nearby officers to admit that he’d been driving drunk and was ready to be arrested for DUI.
The candid Kentucky man then attempted to chase his beer with a bottle of fuel injector cleaning fluid, but the officers managed to stop him.
While honesty in daily life is an admirable attribute, the things you decide to tell a police officer during a DUI stop can affect your chances of having your punishments reduced.
You have nothing to gain by speaking to police. Once an officer has decided that he or she has probable cause to stop and arrest you, no amount of explanation or charisma can change that.
Remember, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Bargaining will not help you; the more ammunition you give to police, the more the prosecutor has to weaken your position. Furthermore, you are gambling that the police officer’s report is accurate. Most times, the jury will assume that the officer’s account of the DUI is accurate, since you are the one with the motive to lie.
There’s a reason for the Fifth Amendment. Even if you think you have a good reason for drunk driving, tell it to a DUI attorney, not the police.
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