San Diego Being Sued By City Council Hopeful Over DUI Arrest
The city of San Diego has had a lawsuit filed by a man who is considering running for City Council next year over a 2007 driving under the influence arrest.
On November 18, 2007, B.D. Howard, 29, was taken into custody for the second time in 3 months for a DUI in connection with a solo car accident. He already had his license suspended for the first DUI. According to Howard in an interview, other people were driving his car.
San Diego police found an abandoned BMW on the off ramp of Interstate 5 and 19th Street that had hit a concrete barrier that turned out to be registered to Howard.
Police went to the suspected DUI driver’s home about a block away and found him at home. According to police they heard him shouting to other people in the house not to let the police in. Police said he smelled strongly of alcohol and denied that the car was his.
Witnesses say the man they saw driving the BMW was a black man wearing a red bandana around his neck. Police said that Howard was the only black man and they saw a red bandana at his home.
Howard took a breathalyzer test and was a 0.15 which is above the legal limit of .08, and was taken into custody. He was never prosecuted and the case was dismissed.
Representing himself Howard sued the city, state and the officers involved in the second arrest last year. He was seeking damages for false imprisonment, battery, assault intentional infliction of emotional distress, and violation of his civil rights. He said that the police officers lied about statements taken by a witness.
Wednesday, Howard said he was planning to drop the lawsuit saying he had changed his mind and he didn’t want to cost the taxpayers any money.
Council Hopeful Suing City Over DUI Arrest, Voice of San Diego.org, March 25,2009
If you have been arrested and charged with a DUI in San Diego County, and need an experienced San Diego DUI Attorney, San Diego DUI Attorney Victor A. Orsatti with the San Diego Law Center has a winning track record for DUI cases and will explain all of your legal options during a free consultation.
