Can’t be Wrong

Some officers know how to administer tests correctly. They do everything by the book, and their results are perfectly valid. The results are clean. That doesn’t compute with the officer. He was sure that you were under the influence. He just knew it. It was intuition. So he gives you a ticket anyway. What do tests know, anyway?

That’s what goes through the mind of some police officers. They think that their opinion is enough and that tests are not as good as the judgment of a police officer. This type of officer is called an impartial observer. Their personal judgment concerning a matter gets in the way of them doing their job in a proper and ethical way. Due to their state of mind, they are often resistant to admit that the tests they administered on someone actually came back negative.

This is where, hopefully, the videotape of the incident comes in. Visual proof of the person passing the test is all a jury needs to be able to discount the officer’s biased opinion. A police officer is a person of authority, but the person behind the badge is still a person, and people are fallible. Just because a police officer gives testimony, it does not guarantee that the testimony is unbiased and valid. Hopefully, any officer that you encounter will be one of honor, and will respect the results of the tests that are given. Unfortunately, that might not always be the case. In those situations, just hope that the true testimony can be brought forth in the courtroom.