More controversial facts and allegations are surfacing in the Lisa Steed scandal.
The former Utah Highway Patrol officer is accused of wrongfully arresting hundreds of Utah residents for drunk driving.
One attorney is pushing a class action lawsuit against Steed and the state. He alleges that Steed routinely violated police protocol and that her supervisors knew about it.
There is evidence that Steed arrested individual for DUI despite them being completely sober. A preliminary review of Steed’s field sobriety test tapes indicates that many of the field sobriety tests were done either wholly or partially off-camera.
“She’s a predator,” one attorney told Fox News. “She preyed on the innocent. She used illegal techniques to make stops.”
Steed’s alleged actions are particularly troublesome due to the subjective nature of a DUI stop. In drunk driving cases, it is almost wholly the judgment of the police officer which determines whether a person is going to be pulled over and tested for alcohol.
Even completely sober Utah drivers become nervous when a police officer pulls them over and barks orders at them. Individuals who may have one or two drinks are often even more nervous and this can result in an unnecessary arrest and conviction.
The Salt Lake City criminal defense team at Greg Smith & Associates handles DUI cases throughout Utah. If you or a loved one is under investigation or has been charged with drunk driving, call us at 801-651-1512 or contact us online.