LADY LAKE, Fla. — A Lady Lake Police sergeant has been demoted after driving a woman home instead of arresting her when she failed a field sobriety test.
The Lady Lake Police Department says the fact that this driver smelled of alcohol, stumbled and danced through her field sobriety test, and had a tree branch sticking out of her car's hood was more than enough probable cause to arrest her for DUI. Instead, Sergeant Mike Chamberlain decided to let her go and drive her home because he thought the department was understaffed that night.
"Without question she should have been arrested. She could have gone out after she was taken home and another incident could have occurred for which liability could have ensued," explained Lady Lake Police Lt. Vernon Wherry.
Lt. Wherry says there were no staffing issues and Sgt. Chamberlain was demoted because of the February incident, but Chamberlain filed a grievance claiming he was demoted because someone changed his police report.
Chamberlain says he checked the area to see if the woman had been in a crash and his statement was missing from the report. The department doesn't believe that statement existed.
"Furthermore the statement to which the sergeant was referring would have had no material effect at all on the investigation," said Lt. Wherry.
However, Lady Lake did find if an officer submitted a report, there was no way to tell if someone else made changes to it before a supervisor approved it. That problem was resolved last month and the department says they have never had any similar complaints about reports being changed.
The Lady Lake Police Department says it does not believe Chamberlain knew the suspected drunk driver.