Would you take a voluntary Breathalyzer test? These people did
Sacramento Police visit local bars and offer voluntary Breathalyzer tests about once a month as part of a educational program to reduce drunk driving. These people got a look at their BAC on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2018.
Sacramento Police visit local bars and offer voluntary Breathalyzer tests about once a month as part of a educational program to reduce drunk driving. These people got a look at their BAC on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2018.
A Florida woman pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving Wednesday defended her beverage of choice as she was arrested, according to deputies.
“They are only 5 percent,” 32-year-old Denae Morrison of Palm Harbor explained to deputies, referring to the White Claw alcoholic seltzers she had admitted to drinking, according to a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office arrest affidavit.
Other drivers had called 911 before Morrison’s 7 p.m. arrest, reporting that a woman in Palm Harbor was “seen drinking a White Claw … while driving … (and) was not maintaining a lane of traffic,” according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said they found Morrison driving slower than the speed of traffic south on U.S. Highway 19. Morrison was pulled over, but she had difficulties navigating to a stop and smelled strongly of alcohol when she was approached, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
“I had a drink at noon and (two) while driving home — well in the car,” she said, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies described Morrison as “unkept.” Her hair was “in a nest,” her skirt was sideways and her shoes were off, according to the arrest affidavit. Deputies said she was swaying and leaning against the car with bloodshot, watery and dilated eyes.
Morrison showed signs of impairment during a field sobriety test but told officers she wouldn’t consent to a breath test because “if I do the breath test it is an automatic DUI,” according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Morrison was booked at the Pinellas County Jail on $500 bond and was released Thursday, according to online Sheriff’s Office records.
Her reported statement about the hard seltzer wasn’t incorrect: White Claw’s fruit-flavored, gluten-free drinks are 5 percent alcohol by volume, with 100 calories and 2 grams of carbohydrates in each serving, according to the company’s website.
Jared Gilmour is a McClatchy national reporter based in San Francisco. He covers everything from health and science to politics and crime. He studied journalism at Northwestern University and grew up in North Dakota.