Florida police have been employing a handcuffing technique that is creating debate within its ranks. It relies on the element of surprise after requesting Florida DUI suspects to begin a fake field sobriety test. Once the motorists assume a stance with their hands at their sides and their eyes closed, the officer quickly places handcuffs on their wrists.

No warning. No professional courtesy.

The arrest technique has come into question after a videotape was released that showed a police officer using excessive force during a DUI arrest. The DUI suspect appeared taken off-guard and tried to turn around, only to be slammed into a nearby truck, put in a headlock and kneed several times.

DUI defense attorneys and criminal justice experts feel the ‘surprise arrest’ tactic is unusual and troublesome because it can turn a peaceful arrest into a potentially dangerous situation. “I’ve been in law enforcement a whole lot of years, but this doesn’t make sense to me,” said Dale Carson, an attorney, former police officer and FBI agent who specializes in DUI arrests. “It’s subject to cause more trouble than it’s worth. Why would you treat someone like that? I don’t see that as reasonable policing.”

The surprise arrest tactic has even been used on a 69-year-old man and on a woman, despite the fact that they were neither belligerent nor resisting.

Proponents of the practice state that intoxicated people are unpredictable and it is better to quickly handcuff a Florida DUI suspect and prevent them from fighting with the arresting officer.

Chuck Chambers, a private investigator and former police officer, said that he made hundreds of Florida DUI arrests and never had to take anyone by surprise. He only had to tell suspects they were under arrest and ask them to put their hands behind their back. Referring to the necessity of the surprise technique, he said, “You could also drop-kick them in the chin. But it’s about what’s reasonable in the situation.”

A repeat Ohio DUI-OVI offender got to watch his older pick-up truck get flattened courtesy of the local government. After the man was convicted of his ninth drunk driving charge, Athens County, Ohio officials seized his truck, an option when a vehicle has been used in a crime.

Usually such property are sold, though occasionally the resale value of a vehicle is low and the county opts for destroying it.

The owner of the truck was arrested for DUI-OVI after running off the road and nearly striking a building. Police found a bottle of vodka under the seat and the driver registered a blood alcohol content twice the legal limit. Besides his ninth DUI-OVI, it was the driver’s third felony drunk driving charge.

The county prosecutor plans on recording the vehicle crushing and using the video in a public service announcement warning about the dangers of drunk driving.

Virginia legislators are considering a law that could change the legal landscape for Virginia DUI cases. Some lawmakers want to reduce the number of DUI cases that are plead to lesser offenses or dismissed by judges. Specifically, they want to change the time frame that a motorist’s blood alcohol content can be measured and still be admissible in court.

Legislation proposed by Delegate David B. Albo states that a driver would be guilty of drunk driving if a blood or breath test reaches a .08 threshold “at any time after driving.” Currently such a test must be performed within three hours of driving if the results are to be admitted as evidence in court.

Proponents of the bill say that a blood alcohol test that registers above .08, at any time, creates factual evidence that drunk driving occurred. By considering an open time frame for a BAC test though, lawmakers are acknowledging an argument that Virginia DUI defense attorneys have made for some time. Each person processes alcohol at different rates depending on a number of factors, and a motorist’s BAC could go from being under the legal threshold of .08 when they were actually driving to criminal DUI levels by the time a test is administered.

Michael C. Tillotson, a Newport News attorney who specializes in Virginia driving-under-the-influence cases and is a member of DUILaws.com directory of attorneys, says, “States all around the country have been closing off the defense.” DUI defense attorneys feel the legislative trend is toward DUI defendants proving their innocence as opposed to prosecution showing guilt. They say that organizations like MADD are seeking to limit the ability of a judge to hand down a decision based on the facts of a specific case.

If the proposed Virginia legislation is passed, it will pose limits on future defense strategies. But by agreeing that BAC can change with time, in the short term it presents an opportunity for the thousands of Virginia DUI cases currently pending. To mitigate that impact, Albo is considering making the bill an emergency measure so it would go into law more quickly.

Testing a friendship in Oregon – Police suspect drunk driving in the case of William Robert Madison IV, who, while speeding at 2:30 in the morning, careened off a highway and crashed into a house near Clackamas, Oregon. The car then caught fire. The awakened occupants of the house pulled Madison from the burning vehicle and put out the fire. The Volkswagen Jetta Madison was driving had been borrowed from a friend.

Two people who should know better in Wisconsin – Police arrested former Dane County Supervisor Patrick DePula for drunk driving. DePula called his DUI defense attorney Rick Petri. Petri arrived at the police station drunk. According to police, both men were released to a ‘responsible party’ after being charged with first-offense Wisconsin DUI.

Going from bad to worse in Washington – Port Orchard police were summoned to Mako’s Bar around 3:00 am to investigate an ongoing assault. That lead to drunk driving charges against Darrell Neal Hunsaker, 27, who reportedly hit a car behind the bar, continued driving and struck another car nearby hard enough to damage two more cars and take down power lines. Hunsacker was arrested at gunpoint after his car rolled to a stop and the engine died. He was charged with four counts of hit and run, Washington DUI and making threatening remarks to the arresting officer.

Mixing vices with perversions in New York – 58-year Kenneth T. Dunne from Mohegan Lake parked his car next to a car at a Dunkin Donuts that was occupied by two teenage girls. Dunne then proceeded to engage in a sex act with himself. Police were summoned but Dunne had left by the time they arrived. He didn’t make it far however, as police were then alerted to a minor accident at a nearby gas station that involved a drunk driver in vehicle matching the description of Dunne’s. On top of a felony New York DWI, Dunne faces charges of public lewdness and endangering the welfare of a child.

The Texas State Legislature is considering a significant shift in the way the state deals with drug and alcohol related offenses. In an effort to free prison space for violent offenders, those arrested for Texas DWI would be eligible for treatment rather than incarceration.

During a joint hearing at the Texas State Capitol, John Whitmire, the Senate Criminal Justice chairman, and Jerry Madden, the House Corrections chairman, presented an alternative to building more prisons. The plan streamlines the parole system, allowing more non-violent offenders to be out on parole.

Ana Yanez-Correa of the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition said, “Just because there are more prisons doesn’t mean there is less crime.” She also cited the fact that the cost of treatment programs would be far less expensive than building additional prisons.

Texas has the largest prison system in the United States. Just the non-violent prison population in Texas prisons is bigger than the entire prison population for any state except California. Texas has 20,000 in jail for drug charges and another 12,000 who were re-jailed after parole or probation ‘technical violations’, such as a missed appointment with a parole officer.

Tony Fabelo, senior research consultant for the Council of State Government’s Justice Center, says that once prisoners are in the system it is hard to get out and the justice system is clogged with new arrests. According to its own guidelines, the state parole board should release, at minimum, 31 percent of those eligible for parole though it rarely does.

The Whitmire-Madden legislation would allow minor drug and Texas DWI offenders to enter treatment centers, rather than go to jail. That would allow the prison system to reserve more beds for violent criminals and sex offenders. It is also hoped that keeping non-violent, low-level, drug and alcohol offenders out of prison will reduce the chances of them becoming repeat offenders.

Yanez-Correa said that is seems legislators from both political parties are starting to “get smart on crime.”

The United States Army recently completed a special program aimed at keeping soldiers at Fort Bliss, Texas from being involved in drunk driving accidents. The Army Surgeon General issued individual breathalyzers before the start of the 2006 holiday season.

BreathScan breathalyzers were available to all soldiers, as well as civilian employees. The aim was to have those out drinking to test their blood alcohol content before making a decision to drive. This in turn would hopefully prevent intoxicated motorists from getting behind the wheel and being involved in a DWI accident resulting in injury or death.

The disposable breath test device is smaller than a cigarette. Fifteen minutes after consuming a last drink, the user cracks an inner tube and blows into it for 12 seconds. The BreathScan uses crystals that turn different colors depending on the level of alcohol detected. It takes two minutes to get the test results.

The BreathScan was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2006, and it’s said to be about 100 percent accurate. BreathScan devices are available for public use, and can be purchased for $2-3.

The pilot program is over though the data is being reviewed for possible use throughout the Army. Military officials at Fort Bliss credit the program with a reduction of Texas DWI arrests during the holidays. One soldier agreed it is a good way to be safe. It keeps us from “ being tested by the cops.”

Elyria, Ohio – A Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s deputy was stopped after being spotted driving westbound on Interstate 90 with a blown out front tire and riding on the rim. Sgt. David Miller, 39, of North Olmsted immediately announced that he was a police officer and then refused to submit to a Breathalyzer test. He was charged with operating a moving vehicle while intoxicated (Ohio OVI) and operating an unsafe vehicle. Deputies from Cleveland came to the Ohio Highway Patrol post in Elyria to pick up Miller, who was placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.

Onanole, Canada – Constable Kevin Senkowski was charged with drunk driving after crashing his snowmobile around 3:00 am. A 28-year old woman riding with Senkowski was thrown from the snowmobile and sustained non-life threatening injuries.

Centerville, Ohio – Police Chief Nolan Clark, 26, was arrested at a sobriety checkpoint and charged with drinking while driving. He had a loaded weapon in his car. One of Clark’s job responsibilities was teaching the DARE program at the elementary school, which warns kids about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

Portsmouth, Florida – Six term former Police Sheriff Gary W. Waters served 15 days in jail after being arrested for his second Florida DUI. Waters, 62, was stopped for driving a golf cart the wrong way on a roadway. Citing his 40 years as a policeman, he asked the arrested officer if he could ‘get a break’.

Pekin, Illinois – Police Officer Greg Heiken faces a charge of Illinois DUI after starting a chain reaction crash that left 10 people injured. In 2004 Heiken received an award from the Illinois Department of Transportation for making the most DUI arrests in Woodford County. Heiken was suspended, effective the last day of his Christmas vacation. The accident occurred on the first day of his vacation.

Al Unser Jr. was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence after being involved in a crash on the Las Vegas Beltway in Nevada. Unser, 44, was identified as the driver of a car that sideswiped another vehicle around 11:00 am Thursday and then fled the scene.

Unser’s car was slightly damaged though the other vehicle struck a concrete median. Neither driver was reported to be injured. According to Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Kevin Honea, Unser failed several field sobriety tests. Unser was charged with Nevada DUI, misdemeanor hit and run, failure to render aid in an accident and failure to report an accident.

Unser is the son of Indianapolis 500 racing legend Al Unser and nephew of three-time Indy winner Bobby Unser. In 1992 and 1994, Unser, Jr. won the Indy 500. He also won two CART (now Champ Car Racing) points titles and was the youngest ever IROC champion.

Unser has a history of alcohol abuse and depression. He went through alcohol rehabilitation treatment in 2002 after reportedly striking his girlfriend in the face while drunk.

Unser’s defense attorney has declined comment on the Nevada DUI incident.

State legislators in Pierre have introduced two bills that would increase the penalties if a motorist if convicted of South Dakota DUI.

House Bill 1072 would expand a breath test program for repeat DUI offenders from the current 14 counties to a statewide effort. The ‘24/7 Program’ requires those convicted of multiple South Dakota DUI offenses to submit to a breath test twice a day, everyday. There are immediate consequences if a participant in the program does not comply or if the test indicates alcohol consumption.

Local Sheriff Mike Milstead says, “I think it helps keep people out of jail. It helps keep some people who have addiction problems sober.”

Another bill, House Bill 1120, would require the installation of ignition interlock devices in the vehicles of repeat DUI offenders. Such a device disables the ignition if alcohol is detected.

Milstead says the bills “are positive efforts that are being taken to try to make our highways safer.”

Celebrity Paris Hilton was sentenced to three years probation after pleading not guilty to California DUI. The charge was reduced from driving under the influence to alcohol-related reckless driving.

Hilton, whose plea was entered in court by her California DUI defense attorney, was fined and ordered to attend 12 classes in an alcohol education program. In addition, Hilton is prohibited from driving with any measurable blood-alcohol content and she cannot refuse to take a breath test. The judge also offered her the option of reducing her probation to 24 months if she completed 40 hours of community service.

Hilton, 25, was arrested for DUI last September after being stopped for driving erratically. She reportedly failed a field sobriety test and her breath test registered 0.08, the legal threshold for drunk driving in California.

A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt but in California it is the legal equivalent to pleading guilty when determining sentencing.