CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – Documents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement concerning the DUI arrest of Ridgeview High School's principal last month tell all when it says, "No drugs were identified."
That's the basis on which 60-year-old John Westmoreland has been exonerated of the charges he faced. Lab results showing he had no drugs or alcohol in his system.
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According to his original arrest report, a deputy spotted Westmoreland drifting, swerving and weaving at Blanding Boulevard near Branan Field Road in Middleburg at about 1 a.m. Sept. 10.
The officer pulled him over, and even though he said Westmoreland provided two breath-alcohol samples of .000, the officer wrote in the report that he smelled alcohol on his breath. The officer also wrote that based on a field sobriety exercise, he felt he had probable cause to believe Westmoreland's normal faculties were impaired.
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The report also says that when the officer asked Westmoreland for his ID, he instead handed him a credit card.
According to FDLE documents released this week, Westmoreland did tell the officer he had two beers, but he told the officer his driving was poor because he was trying to put a cup of coffee in the cup holder of his car.
Channel 4 crime analyst Ken Jefferson says that it appears the officer acted in good faith by stopping Westmoreland.
"You do have the right as an officer to stop that person and investigate," Jefferson said. "Could he have used better judgement and cited him for careless driving? Maybe."
"The problem is because so much of it is subjective," DUI attorney Susan Cohen said.
Cohen, who says she's represented many clients like Westmoreland, argues field sobriety exercises are too subjective and depending solely on what the officer observes.
"There are a lot of people that have balance issues all the time. Things such as height, age and clearly nervousness would have an impact," Cohen said.
Cohen says that if Westmoreland had turned down the sobriety test, he would have likely been arrested, with the officer believing he really did have something to hide.
"It underscores how easily people can be arrested with DUI," Cohen said.