Letters from the issue of Thursday, June 12, 2008

I think if most people knew how little it takes to be convicted of a very serious and costly crime, there would be an outcry. Or maybe not, because they think it couldn't happen to them.

One possible nightmare would be a little old lady's pulling out in front of you and causing an accident after you've had three or four beers. You are doomed even if it was the little old lady's fault. You could be doing five miles per hour under the speed limit, in full control, on a sunny afternoon. You are doomed. (By the way, I'm a big, full-figured guy; a 108-pound secretary will be doomed with just one drink.) This is not justice.

The law is so unfair that a person driving along, realizing he's impaired, pulls over to sleep it off. A cop finds him; he's busted. Sure, he was in violation, but he did the right thing. This concept encourages impaired drivers to keep going until they get home. That is not justice.

A Phoenix police spokesman recently commented on how there are thousands of impaired drivers every night on the roads. What he doesn't say is that almost all of them are getting home without incident.

I'm not saying we should allow folks who are really impaired drive. I'm saying there is too much hyperbole about this issue. Another example is the statistic about the high percentage of "alcohol-related" accidents or deaths. The phrase is "alcohol-related," not "alcohol-caused."

There has to be a better way than ruining people's lives. Remember, it could happen to you.
Dave Hunt, Gilbert

Time for a hard look at cops: Everyone should write to Governor Janet Napolitano and tell her to veto this new DUI bill that makes people undergo treatment before they're found guilty.

We're fools if we believe for one minute that [Jason Squires'] wife wasn't arrested because of whom she married.

Instead of questioning the ethics of defense attorneys, it's high time Phoenix, Gilbert, and Mesa took a hard look at why cops are pulling citizens over as soon as they leave an eatery that serves liquor (because of, say, a wide right turn).

God bless this family for holding their own — imagine those that cannot?
Marie Lagonia, Chandler

Cops on a power trip: This situation is ridiculous and so typical. It's no wonder many of us have little or no respect for the police officers in the Phoenix metro area. Far too many of them are on power trips.

My daughter and son-in-law keep odd hours (he works tech support at night). So when he has a night off, they're up, doing things the rest of us do during the day. One night, they stopped by the post office drive-through to drop off their Netflix, and after pulling out of the driveway, were stopped for being "suspicious." They were drilled with ridiculous questions for 15 minutes, just because they stopped at the mailbox at 2 a.m.

How is this right?
Paula Olson, Phoenix

It happened to David Saint — twice: Great story, and right on the money. I've been pulled over twice and accused of being DUI when, in fact, I was sober.

In one instance, the reason the officer gave for pulling me over was: "You were drifting too close to the left side of the lane, not staying in the middle, and you were varying your speed too quickly from 55 to 57 miles per hour."

Huh? Yeah, he said I changed my speed from 55 to 57 too frequently. He then threatened that if I didn't do the test, I would be arrested. I went ahead with his field-sobriety test (which he said I failed), and then he gave me a Breathalyzer. He actually did a double take when it came back 0.00.
David Saint, Phoenix

Doc, yeah, but she hadn't had a drop!: I am an emergency-room physician who regularly deals with the innocent victims (often children) of drunk drivers. This story was about the most one-sided thing I've ever read.

When I read stories like this, I think about the children under age 5 whom I have pronounced dead after their being hit by a drunk driver, and it gets me really angry. I have seen so many children run over by drunk drivers, despite tougher laws and public education.

I think one lawyer's wife can have a few of her "civil liberties" interrupted after a night in a bar — if it helps get other drunk drivers off the street.
Dave Schindler, Boston

Give drivers the benefit of the doubt: Though my story happened in California, I believe the circumstances to be similar. Several years ago, my daughter was coming home from dinner at a friend's house. She was involved in a traffic accident that totaled her car. Incredibly (thank goodness!), she was unharmed. She was, however, very shaken. She wasn't under the influence.

When the police arrived on scene, they made the same assumptions as the Mesa Police Department in your story. Their presumption was that, because she had pulled in front of the oncoming driver, she must have been drunk.

Then, finding no evidence of alcohol, they presumed that she must have been high on meth or cocaine because her heart rate was high. Mind you, this was after a crash had totaled her car. Of course her heart rate was high!