Testifying Lying Under Oath: Police

Testifying

Lying under oath: Police testimony

Driving while under the influence is a serious crime, and officer evidence often plays a critical role in the conviction of drivers for the offense. According to the article "Police lies lead to dismissal of possibly 100 DUI cases," a North Carolina police officer testified that a woman accused of drunk driving had failed several field sobriety tests, although the video from Officer Barry Grimes' patrol car showed that the woman had never performed those tests.

There is no justification for lying in this instance. If Grimes had probable cause, in his estimation, to believe that the women had been drinking, he should have performed the field sobriety tests. The purpose of such tests is to ensure that officers have a reasonable standard to uphold when arresting possibly drunk drivers and removing the drivers from the road for further analysis. If the woman was intoxicated, Grimes' flagrant disobedience ensured that the case would be thrown out of court (as it was) and the woman would once again be on the road, behind the wheel. If the woman was not intoxicated, Grimes violated her rights and created a bad impression of the police system.

Not only did Grimes initially lie about giving the field sobriety tests, he also lied on the witness stand during the defendant's DWI trial, breaching the trust of the prosecutor as well as the larger community. Grimes' testimony was crucial to the case, given that was why the woman was apprehended, and no other officer was involved in apprehending the woman.

Grimes has been charged with lying under oath and the police department suspended Grimes after the judge found Grimes in contempt of court. He sentenced Grimes to 30 days in jail and ordered him to pay a $500 fine. Given the fact that a lie by a police officer can deprive a person of their liberty, this seems like a reasonable sentence. Only the use of monitoring in patrol cars revealed that the tests were not performed.