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Reason
10-15-2009, 01:07 PM
Friday, 16 October, 2009 - 06:50

(http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/distraught-woman-charged-quotdoing-right-thingquot/5/27444) Wellington, Oct 16 NZPA - (http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/distraught-woman-charged-quotdoing-right-thingquot/5/27444)



A Wellington woman who says she tried to do "the right thing" to prevent herself from driving drunk ended up being arrested by police.


Distraught over a family tragedy, Johnsonville housewife Cassandra Palmer, 46, drank a bottle of wine in her parked car in April.


Realizing she was at risk of driving, she walked into Wellington police station to hand over her car keys but ended up being arrested and taken to the cells.


Although not charged with drink-driving, she appeared at a defended hearing in Wellington District Court yesterday facing one count of refusing to give blood.


Ms Palmer, who had never been arrested before said the experience had destroyed her faith in police.


"I walked in for help and handed over my keys. I was saying I had no money, no cellphone and shouldn't drive home and I was pounced on. It was really traumatic," she told The Dominion Post outside court.


"I got myself into a silly situation but I would have liked to get out of it with their help instead of being persecuted."


The court was told she was sobbing when she walked into Wellington station at 7.45pm on April 27, telling an officer to take her keys and asking to call her husband.


She said she had been drinking wine and wanted to drink more, Sergeant Corey Watts said.


She was then processed for drink-driving, but refused to take a blood test, repeating: "I've done nothing wrong."


"I sympathized with her situation entirely because she had done the right thing in coming in," Mr Watts said. "But we were duty-bound to carry out a procedure based on our belief at the time."


The defended hearing will continue on December 7.
The law allows an intoxicated person in a parked car and in possession of the keys to be charged with drink-driving.

ramallamamama
10-15-2009, 01:15 PM
I'm surprised she wasn't tased (for good measure).

Matt Collins
10-15-2009, 01:27 PM
Duh.... the police are NOT your friends.



Funny to see an ad for alcotester.com at the bottom of this page.

angelatc
10-15-2009, 01:31 PM
The law allows an intoxicated person in a parked car and in possession of the keys to be charged with drink-driving.

They didn't catch her in the car, and they can't force her to testify against herself.

brandon
10-15-2009, 01:42 PM
The law allows an intoxicated person in a parked car and in possession of the keys to be charged with drink-driving.

Yes, this is why you should always put your keys outside of the car, in the wheel well, before you pass out drunk in the drivers seat. I've done this a few times....

dannno
10-15-2009, 01:48 PM
Really? I thought you had to be "operating" the vehicle, which supposedly includes turning on the radio :confused:

Drunk people should be able to go get stuff out of their car without getting a DUI.

Danke
10-15-2009, 01:48 PM
I'm surprised she wasn't tased (for good measure).

Exactly, well at least she is off the streets now, we can all feel safer by the actions of these brave policemen.

devil21
10-15-2009, 03:28 PM
Really? I thought you had to be "operating" the vehicle, which supposedly includes turning on the radio :confused:

Drunk people should be able to go get stuff out of their car without getting a DUI.

That's my understanding too. Keys must be in the ignition. I guess it could vary by state though.

Only thing I can think of is if her driving the car was caught on camera outside the police station. Most are covered with cameras so if she drove into the parking lot and walked in drunk then they have their probable cause to suspect drunk driving. BUT she did absolutely the right thing by refusing a blood (and breath) test. Never blow or give blood. I don't care what state law says, it's a violation of your 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination. Without the physical evidence of intoxication it becomes a he said/she said sort of affair. She did absolutely the wrong thing by assuming the police are there to help her. Tough lesson but hopefully it's one less person that thinks police are for her protection.

BillyDkid
10-16-2009, 08:51 PM
One count of refusing to give blood!!! Are you kidding me??? Goddam, sometimes I hate this country.

angelatc
10-16-2009, 09:52 PM
Yes, this is why you should always put your keys outside of the car, in the wheel well, before you pass out drunk in the drivers seat. I've done this a few times....

I knew a guy in Florida - cop's son - who knew he was going to be pulled over. He ducked down a few alleys so he could get into his yard, shut the car off and threw the keys under the car.

They were soooo mad! They called 5 other units out and searched the whole yard with their big obnoxious flashlights.....the chopper even flew over at one point. (He was constant person of interest to them for a myriad of reasons...) They kept asking him where he threw them, but they couldn't find the keys so they had to leave him.

It was awesome to see the little guy won once in a while.

KCIndy
10-17-2009, 05:16 PM
Okay.... ONE MORE TIME....

Repeat after me:

The police are not my friends.
The police are not my friends.
The police are not my friends.
The police are not my friends.
The police are not my friends.
The police are not my friends.
The police are not my friends.
The police are not my friends.....

Are we getting the idea yet?

:rolleyes:

james1906
10-18-2009, 10:16 AM
That's my understanding too. Keys must be in the ignition. I guess it could vary by state though.

Only thing I can think of is if her driving the car was caught on camera outside the police station. Most are covered with cameras so if she drove into the parking lot and walked in drunk then they have their probable cause to suspect drunk driving. BUT she did absolutely the right thing by refusing a blood (and breath) test. Never blow or give blood. I don't care what state law says, it's a violation of your 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination. Without the physical evidence of intoxication it becomes a he said/she said sort of affair. She did absolutely the wrong thing by assuming the police are there to help her. Tough lesson but hopefully it's one less person that thinks police are for her protection.

This looks like it happened in New Zealand. The same country that gave us this gem of a PSA.

YouTube - New Zealand "Drunk Uncle" anti drinking ad (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y91xgcTROsU)

forsmant
10-18-2009, 10:21 AM
Drunk Driving is a victimless crime. Ramming into someone and harming them should be the crime, regardless of cause, alcohol, cell phone radio, eating.

zach
10-18-2009, 10:23 AM
So she gets in trouble for wanting to avoid possible harm to others and herself?

Detainment Is Prevention.

Bryan
10-18-2009, 10:59 AM
Pathetic, but not surprising by today's standards.


Drunk Driving is a victimless crime. Ramming into someone and harming them should be the crime, regardless of cause, alcohol, cell phone radio, eating.

Drunk driving can be a breech of contract, if you agree to particular terms to use roads owned and operated by someone other than yourself. That said- I certainly understand the issue of the slippery slope. In Texas it is now illegal to use a hand-on cell phone in a school zone. The creep is on.

KenInMontiMN
10-18-2009, 08:32 PM
Really? I thought you had to be "operating" the vehicle, which supposedly includes turning on the radio :confused:

Drunk people should be able to go get stuff out of their car without getting a DUI.

State laws vary. Here in MN you can be arrested for DUI when under the influence if there is probable cause to suspect that you have A. Driven B. Operated C. Been in control of

In control of simply means being in the vicinity of the vehicle with means available to operate the thing. I've been arrested three times in my lifetime for dui; only once while driving though.

If the police can pile on enough for a vehicle forfeiture, then the confiscating agency gets to keep the proceeds of sale. Most jurisdictions are now budgeting in expected forfeiture proceeds in their fiscal projections, big business for LE. This whole aspect of the game has really thrown a wet blanket on the application of sound and reasonable discretion.

Danke
10-18-2009, 08:35 PM
Drunk Driving is a victimless crime. Ramming into someone and harming them should be the crime, regardless of cause, alcohol, cell phone radio, eating.

And the penalties increased if they had hateful thoughts while ramming.

ronpaulhawaii
10-18-2009, 08:42 PM
One count of refusing to give blood!!! Are you kidding me??? Goddam, sometimes I hate this country.

You're in New Zealand? ;)

devil21
10-18-2009, 10:01 PM
This looks like it happened in New Zealand. The same country that gave us this gem of a PSA.

YouTube - New Zealand "Drunk Uncle" anti drinking ad (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y91xgcTROsU)

Ah didn't even notice it was NZ. Goes to show that police aren't your friends regardless of where you are.

kathy88
10-19-2009, 04:27 AM
About 15 years ago we had a town cop who would not only drive drunks home when asked, but would take calls from them in the middle of the night and go get them and drive them home. I was going out for my birthday one night (many moons ago) and ran into him while getting gas. He asked what I was up to, I told him I was going to another town 12 miles away to see my friend play the guitar and celebrate my birthday. He said, "if you have too much, call the station, I'll come get you guys." And he MEANT it. You would NEVER see that now.

BillyDkid
11-26-2009, 07:05 PM
You're in New Zealand? ;)Yeah, I mean no, duh. Still, it's obscene.