It’s best to not drink and drive. That should go without saying. But if you are, don’t prove the arresting officer’s case by trying to smoke the burning end of a cigarette during the traffic stop. The tale of one man learning that lesson started around 1 a.m. on Dec. 4, when an officer spotted a car changing lanes at a traffic stop around 6th Avenue and Pearl Street.
The officer became suspicious and followed the car a few blocks. Watching it cross over the dividing lanes of traffic, the officer opted to stop the car. The 40-year-old driver said he was on his way to pick up his cousin and then changed his story to say he was going home. He then told the officer that he has never had a driver’s license since he only used the car to go to and from work.
He said he had not been drinking that night and gave the officer his name and birth date. Lo and behold, a records check found that the man in fact once had a license but it had been suspended for drunken driving. The officer then observed the man struggle to light a cigarette and after several attempts got a good drag off it before finding a way to flip the cigarette around before he took another puff. He burned his lip and tossed the cigarette out of the car.
The officer field tested the man’s coordination and found them lacking. He was unable to keep his head straight enough during four attempts to even follow the officer’s directions. Then came attempts five through eight, with marginally better results. But he still didn’t pass. He was then notified about the suspended license and was put under arrest. The license, which he had previously stated was never obtained, magically appeared in his wallet during a search. He later tested twice the legal alcohol limit.