Pasco County Deputy Avoids Florida DUI

Off-duty deputy was allowed to go home despite suspicion of drunk driving.

John Daniels, a Pinellas County Florida deputy, was on patrol around 1:00 am when he witnessed a car pass him at a high rate of speed. His radar indicated the vehicle was going 98 in a 45 mph zone. After turning around and giving pursuit, the deputy found the vehicle stopped 20 yards from an intersection with the front passenger outside the vehicle urinating.

Daniels approached the driver, Jose Berrios, and requested driver’s license, proof of insurance and registration. Berrios then identified himself and his passenger as Pasco County deputies. Daniels noted the presence of alcohol and the Pasco County deputies admitted to having consumed “approximately one or two drinks”. Daniels asked Berrios to submit to a breath test to check blood alcohol content, saying if he passed he could drive home and if he failed he could call someone to pick him up. Berrios countered with a request to just call someone for a ride and not submit to the test, which Daniels agreed to.

Instead of a charge of suspicion of driving under the influence in Florida, Daniels’ report of the incident ends with “Disposition: Case closed, solved non-criminal.” A Pinellas County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson said the incident is being reviewed. A spokesperson with the Pasco County Sheriff’s Department also indicated that the deputies involved are under investigation.

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