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| This Isn’t Drinking and Driving; It’s Drinking and Walking
Posted: 7/19/2008 3:57:15 AM | It was my 30th birthday. I was intoxicated in public at the time of my arrest, on the morning after my birthday. I left an undisclosed establishment on North Market Street shortly past 1:37 a.m. There was a black limousine parked outside. I headed eastwardly. It was a coincidence that there were two ladies that walked in front of me, and the limo. caught their attentions. I attempted to cross the street behind the limo., and that is when an off-duty police officer stopped me. He inquired as to my intoxication. I exercised my right to remain silent, because anything I might have said could have and would have been used against me in a court of law. I was grabbed, and my hands were cuffed eventually. At least one other police officer approached the scene. He was on a bicycle if I hadn’t been mistake. My pant’s pockets were pillaged. I asked what the charge was. “Public Drunk.”* While I stood my ground behind the car that was to have taken me to jail, I looked behind me, and observed a parked, police vehicle. I think it was a Ford, Mustang with lights on it’s roof and the black and white markings of the City of Charleston Police Dept. I did so in the event that there might have been video surveillance of this arrest. I witnessed the two ladies enter the limousine on the other side of the street. Other than that party, the police officers, and myself, the street appeared to be relatively emptied at the time. The off-duty officer placed me under arrest. I said, “…Don’t do this…” I was escorted to the back seat of the car that I stood behind previously. After a few moments, I saw the limo. driven away to the west. I and the gentleman whom made the arrest departed the scene. No one read me my rights at the time.
After my arrival at the county detention center, I asked the lady who booked me with what I was charged. I was placed in an unsanitary cell, with nothing but a bench, a drain in the floor, and other detainees. I tried to keep to myself. One of the other men started to talk nonsensically. The others and I ignored him. One of the men in that cell urinated on places other than the drain that included the bench. The stench overwhelmed most of us. Three of the four of us were later taken for the identification process… I digressed. I took a tour of a prison for a business-law class back in high school. I learned of the stress on everyone in such an environment. At the time of my first arrest I learned that such an environment, when over-crowded, was far more stressful… Anyway, I smiled for my mug-shots this second time. When told not to smile, I stated, “I can’t help it.” Before my fingerprints were to have been taken, I was told by the corrections officer, who made the identification officially, to sign a screen. I asked what it was that he wanted me to have signed. Again, he told me to sign it. To this day, I still haven’t learned why a signature was or wasn’t required. I wrote the words, “I don’t know what I’m signing” above, then attempted to have affixed my signature below. The officer attempted to take the pen from me, I told him, “I’m signing it.” The officer seized the pen, grabbed me by the shirts on my chest, and jacked me up against the wall. I said something like, “Sir, you need to regain your composure; you have lost control of yourself.” Then, he grabbed me by the arm. Again I said, “I’m signing it.” I didn’t think I ever got past my middle initial. He threw me out of the identification room, and into a situation of unlawful restraint and excessive use of force.
I was met with the force of what seemed like all available correctional officers at the time. I slapped my hand down on a counter’s top, and said, “Wait, this is wrong!” l was gang-tackled, shackled, and later drug around in an upright position, basically. While I was on my chest, I used the word, “ass,” for which I apologized with promptness. The cuffs were too tight, and I mentioned that fact repeatedly, again, and again. Throughout this altercation, I focused my attentions on the hands that gripped my body tightly, and the shackles. Photographs were later taken of the bruises that I incurred from this situation, and some were posted on the internet. I made every attempt to cooperate, because I didn’t want any further bodily injuries. Nevertheless, I was returned to the unsanitary cell, whence I came. What might have happened was that the detainee who remained in that cell might have rushed the guards, but I wasn’t sure. I was told to get down on the bench. I turned my head around, watched, and listened, as the officer, whom assaulted me initially, declared, “Everyone saw him hit me first, right.” I was escorted to the A1 section of the jail, otherwise known as segregation, if I wasn’t mistaken. Two officers led me to an interrogation, I meant conference room. Before the door was shut, I asked one of the officers was it the case that the charge was still, “public intoxication.” His words were, “We’ll let you know when we figure that out.” Those cuffs were tight.
When the cuffs were removed, they were done so with caution. I was instructed to strip for a visual search. When I was placed in cuffs again, caution was exercised. I was escorted to a room with another detainee. I was offered the opportunity for a shower. The other detainee repeatedly told me, and later others throughout the relative, completion of the identification processes, that he was jumped by two men at a restaurant. There were bruises and stitches to his face. I never inquired as to the profession of the men whom jumped him. Anyway, I was offered two meals in jail that day, and as with my previous experience in jail, I offered both meals to someone else. This might have sounded sensationalized, but a corrections officer said, “The judge doesn’t want to see you. Sign this and you’ll be released in one-to-four hours. I did. After I read what I signed, I realized that I probably committed a misdemeanor count of perjury. “…On July 3, 2008, Donald J. Hulbert personally appeared before the undersigned judge…” [My last name was misspelled on the form.] The truth: I never appeared before a judge that day. I was corrupted by a corrupted system. Furthermore, I believed that I was detained with more than $30 cash. However, I was issued a check in the amount of $25, and one penny was returned to me at the time of my release from jail, on the 3rd of July. The citation, or “UNIFORM TRAFFIC TICKET” was given to me with the rest of my personal possessions, which was the first time I had seen that document.
Due to the aforementioned incidents in jail, I wasn’t able to make a telephone call. So, I walked to my place of employment, only to learn that I had been fired. My termination was most likely the direct result of not having called about my predicament and again, because I was assaulted in jail. I had radiological examinations on both of my wrists after my release, and I thanked goodness that the x-ray results indicated that there were nor brakes or fractures. The 4th of July weekend came to pass. On the morning of Monday, the 6th of July, I appeared in person at the City of Charleston Police Dept., and requested a copy of the incident report that pertained to my arrest. I was told by Diane, the lady whom I spoke with in person at the station, to call back the next day at noontime. I called Diane Tuesday around noontime, and we talked, but then she was to have returned my call later. She did not. I purchased an attested true copy of the incident report the morning that I was to have appeared in court. Besides, I wasn’t lain in the middle of the road. Spoken hypothetically, if I had been in that badly of shape, then I ought to have been taken to a hospital, and not a jail, because my life might have been put in jeopardy. The circumstances that surrounded the incident of the 3rd of July sounded eerily similar to those of my previous arrest. To have proved my innocence this time will likely have required more than just a video pulled from a police vehicle. Otherwise, and in time, I might have spent 30 days in jail, and had a criminal record for the rest of my life, because I chose to have consumed some alcoholic beverages on my 30th birthday. I was not charged with disorderly conduct. Again, no attempt was made at a breathalyzer test, which could have determined my B.A.C.
©2008 Donald J. Hurlbert
*“CODE
City of
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA…
Sec. 21-163. Drunkenness in public.
No person shall be in a drunk or intoxicated and disorderly condition in or on any public place or in any place open to the public.
(Code 1975, § 37-50)
Cross references: Alcoholic beverages, Ch. 3.
State law references: Gross intoxication and disorderly conduct, S.C. Code 1976, § 16-17-530…” | |
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| This Isn’t Drinking and Driving; It’s Drinking and Walking
Posted: 7/19/2008 4:17:27 AM | so whats your point?
you think theres nothing wrong with being drunk in public?
trust me you can be just as dangerous and just as much as a nuisance.
the fact that you couldnt even figure out what you were signing is a good indication you were blitzed outta your brains if you ask me
as for you proving you were innocent....
how could you do that when you were clearly grossly intoxicated?
i think the most unfortunate thing though is this is not the first time this has happened to you
clearly you're not learning a lesson and you're still not getting what is wrong with your behaviour | |
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| This Isn’t Drinking and Driving; It’s Drinking and Walking
Posted: 7/19/2008 5:20:11 AM | though you MAY have been overly dishandled, i agree with miss-allison.
please go and get some assistance as to why you have been arrested twice for etoh use. do this long before the time when the bottom looks like up | |
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| This Isn’t Drinking and Driving; It’s Drinking and Walking
Posted: 7/19/2008 5:32:28 AM | | The point is that you don't need to be grossly intoxicated in public for a police officer to make up a story and arrest you, leaving you with a criminal record for the rest of your life. The proof is online and in the form of a video from my previos arrest. I trust myself in that I'm a peaceful man. The only thing on the screen was a dashed line to sign. There was no text above, as there would normally be in a business contract. I wasn't grossly intoxicated. If the officer would have conducted a test to check my B.A.C., that would have been proven. The last time, the cop lied, and I was able to prove that with some help. What is wrong with my orderly behavior? | |
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| This Isn’t Drinking and Driving; It’s Drinking and Walking
Posted: 7/19/2008 6:47:19 AM | In my area, the police have arrested people for being drunk in public. I know of people who have been released in the morning with NO charges. I don't know if that is up to the arresting officer or if it is an unwritten policy.
But if you damaged anything or if you are caught in care and control of a vehicle, you are not walking away from it. | |
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| This Isn’t Drinking and Driving; It’s Drinking and Walking
Posted: 7/19/2008 7:55:51 AM | Anytime you are intoxicated (or even appear intoxicated) you are "fair game" to the cops. Drunks are the easiest to pick on, manipulate, and even abuse ... as we all know drunks don't make credible witnesses ... especially when it comes down to the complaint of a drunk versus the word of a cop(s).
Although your experience was unpleasant, it could have been alot worse. Just ask a few who have been actually beaten by cops who are bored, in pissy moods, or just in a power-tripping mood ... when their only crime was choosing to walk home instead of drive. | |
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| This Isn’t Drinking and Driving; It’s Drinking and Walking
Posted: 7/19/2008 4:33:04 PM | come to Britain my friend, most drunks are free to walk the streets at any hour of night and day without let or hindrance from law enforcement officers.
The more I read your story, the more I see bits that suggest differing perceptions of events. For instance:
a coincidence that there were two ladies that walked in front of me
An independent witness saw this drunken male stalking 2 vulnerable women on a deserted street late at night.
I attempted to cross the street behind the limo
you were seen staggering across the street narrowly missed by the limo
I exercised my right to remain silent
when stopped and asked if you were okay, you were incapable of coherently replying
my hands were cuffed eventually
you refused to be guided to safety off the street and then you resisted lawful arrest
While I stood my ground behind the car
you put up a violent struggle
I witnessed the two ladies enter the limousine
you drunkenly shouted abuse at the two women
I said, “…Don’t do this…”
you argues with the arresting officers, questioned their right to uphold the law, suggested they should go arrest themselves for unnatural relationships with their mothers.
I looked behind me, and observed a parked, police vehicle
you shouted that it will take more than a few cops to arrest you
My pant’s pockets were pillaged
as you fiercely struggled some of your pocket contents were scattered on the ground
I was escorted to the back seat of the car
to prevent you hurting yourself even more it took several officers to safely install you into the car
No one read me my rights at the time.
you fell asleep
After my arrival at the county detention centre, I asked the lady who booked me with what I was charged
you next awoke to find yourself stood at the booking desk wondering what the duck!
One of the other men started to talk nonsensically.
so drunk you were you lost comprehension of English language
The others and I ignored him
everyone fell asleep again
I smiled for my mug-shots this second time
you began laughing at the officers and how ugly their sisters are
I stated, “I can’t help it.”
when asked to refrain from insulting everyone, you told them to make you stop
I wrote the words, “I don’t know what I’m signing”
you wrote an abusive comment about the booking officer's relationship with a dog
The officer seized the pen, grabbed me by the shirts
you attempted to stab the officer with the pen who had to defend himself using minimal force
“Wait, this is wrong!”
you said they were a bunch of useless, corrupt tossers who couldn’t do a proper job
I used the word, “ass,”
you started to violently swear uncontrollably
I focused my attentions on the hands that gripped my body tightly, and the shackles
you suggested a gay S and M foursome session
the detainee who remained in that cell might have rushed the guards, but I wasn’t sure
I was escorted to the A1 section of the jail, otherwise known as segregation
you incited a prison riot. the officers separated you from the others before they could retaliate for you getting them into serious trouble
I was instructed to strip for a visual search
you started a drunken strip tease slurring"do you think I'm sexy"
I offered both meals to someone else
You spat in the meals before throwing them in the officer's faces
Thats how a judge might of seen things. Anyway.
Why did your company sack you so promptly unless they were accustomed to late starts and no shows from an employee struggling to make the grade? You have written a good piece of prose, but missed out important bits. When I started reading it I wasn't even sure if it was a true story or fiction like all my posts:roll: You mention a previous arrest.
I don't actually wish to jump :jump: to any conclusions about another fish so can we have more details to flesh this character out a bit.
As to technical points, I didn’t know that the police needed to breathalise someone for a drunk and disorderly charge to stick, it's the opinion of the arresting officer backed up by the custody officer or one other officer that you are drunk is enough.
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| This Isn’t Drinking and Driving; It’s Drinking and Walking
Posted: 7/19/2008 5:32:48 PM | Thanks for commenting... I worked until about 6 p.m. on my birthday, and entered that establishment shortly past 11. I remembered every drink I had that night. No one did me wrong. This wasn't about us vs. them. This was what this was about: This has nothing to do with drinking and driving. To generate revenues, the police in South Carolina are making arrests behind police cars, because cameras record what is in the front of the cars. Officers make up stories about disorderly conduct, and might or might not issue citations for disorderly conduct. Officers say they smell alcohol on suspects, but oftentimes do not attempt to conduct field sobriety tests or breathalyzer tests. Police take the contents of the subjects' pockets, and if the subject has cash, the subject will not see that cash again. Police are not reading subjects' their rights. Subjects go to the county jail. They will have a criminal record for the rest of their lives, and might face 30 days in jail for each charge. The proof is on something-tube: Police videos: some people should not be police officers. I do not appear intoxicated in that video. Being in an intoxicated state durring my second arrest is not of itself a crime. Anyway, these circumstances have created a lot of extra stress on law enforcement officers. There had to have been a better way to have generated money. Also, I was sorry to have heard that, Annonimiss. I thought there was a difference between a drunk[en] state and an intoxicated one. Again, I was not charged with disorderly conduct, and I was peaceful. I caused neither damage, a fight, etc... I wished I could have said what was in the police incident report, but that might have been a crime. fortuitousmalapropism,  ...Thanks. | |
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| This Isn’t Drinking and Driving; It’s Drinking and Walking
Posted: 7/19/2008 6:47:52 PM | That was bloody hilarious post fortuitousmalapropism.
OP: Am I right in thinking you just feel like complaining about the "system" and the "man" and such?
If you think you were truly wronged and your rights were violated, then you are free to seek legal counsel to file a claim or possibly even a lawsuit against the city. If you can post your sob story here on PoF then you should be capable of researching low cost legal aid services in your area. Most law schools and many cities and counties have law clinics. The ACLU and Southern Poverty Law Center may be useful sources of info as well.
If you feel you were were wronged but in a way that the law does not protect, then you should contact your representatives in state and local government and perhaps write letters to editor of local papers. | |
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| This Isn’t Drinking and Driving; It’s Drinking and Walking
Posted: 7/19/2008 7:01:39 PM |
l was gang-tackled, shackled, and later drug around in an upright position, basically. While I was on my chest, I used the word, “ass,” for which I apologized with promptness. The cuffs were too tight, and I mentioned that fact repeatedly, again, and again. Throughout this altercation, I focused my attentions on the hands that gripped my body tightly, and the shackles.
Yes, it was undisclosed , but really, what kind of bar was it ?  | |
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| This Isn’t Drinking and Driving; It’s Drinking and Walking
Posted: 7/19/2008 7:06:18 PM | | Always remember, if you're arrested, and you don't like the way you're treated, complain. Be very vocal. Say things like, "You can't arrest me! Do you know who I am?" and be very indignant about it; they'll know not to mess with you. That's what the cops like: people who know their rights. Good luck! | |
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| This Isn’t Drinking and Driving; It’s Drinking and Walking
Posted: 7/20/2008 10:56:57 AM | Space Squirrel brings up a good point: a lawsuit can be filed for the excesses of the police force during this arrest incident. I am saddened to learn that these cops overreacted as they did to the person who was walking drunk.
A walking drunk is mostly just hurting himself, as opposed to a drunken driver who can kill others. I think the police in Charleston should focus more on nabbing drunken drivers, or making sure that anyone who is walking drunk isn't going to drive. It's one thing to keep an eye on a drunken person who is walking, to make sure that he doesn't enter a car and drive, but it's totally another to abuse someone for walking drunk.
A person who has the need for drunkenness should get help. It is no doubt a cry for help. I think a good officer would be kind and helpful toward someone who is walking drunk, and encourage the drunk to get help while making sure that he doesn't get into a car and drive. Drunkenness is usually a sign of a disease, alcoholism. It is a health care issue and should be treated as such if someone is just walking while drunk.
Don't drink and drive!!!
DW | |
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| This Isn’t Drinking and Driving; It’s Drinking and Walking
Posted: 7/20/2008 3:42:02 PM | Sorry morethanaonenightstand, I wasn't too mean was I?
I suppose I shouldn't be too quick to joke about dodgy arrests especially as I too have been on the wrong side of it some 20 years ago. I was once a vocal student - no not a pop singer, an science student that prefered demonstrations to physics lectures - thats why I drive a van now
One day we made the mistake of telling the local media exactly what we were going to do without adding the all important embargo, so they told everyone else including the police who were in hiding waiting for us. We arrived, started banging our little crosses representing lost jobs into the ground then then council workmen drove up started ripping the crosses up faster.
They then tried stealing the crosses, I grabbed hold of one end of a bundle. I was young and somewhat slimmer then, the other guy was able to push me while holding the bundle into a low wall bruising me. Immediately 2 police sprang from nowhere and arrested me for assaulting the council workman, who accused me of hitting him around the head with a length of 2by2.
I spent the next 8 hours in a cell before been let out with a warning. The police admitted then that as there was absolutely no signs of injury to my alleged victim, nor, mysteriously did the incident show on any video filmed that morning by the police, that they wouldnt charge me for assault but maybe instead for breach of the peace if I complained about anything.
I had to wait a year before receiving an official pardon from the police saying no further action would be taken. This was only a year after the miner's strike so the police had all this gear and training for disturbances and no use for it except stupid students
It sounds like a bad situation over there in South Carolina, perhaps thats part of the problem with having a system where every town and county sets up it's own local police force. We have only 43 forces in total and they are all have to operate to national guidelines so the differences are in small details only. Recently the government has said it wants to merge them into just 12, which will cause big problems for rural areas as criminals leave the better policed cities to rob the countryside.
Anyway, I was thinking, the description of the 2 women, sounds like they wouldnt want to get involved testifying for you, but you could try finding them. Meanwhile, stay sober and dont walk the streets late at night, after all it's not just corrupt officers that might try rolling you. Meanwhile, I will cross off South Carolina from my places to visit list, I'd be too much temptation for them with my big mouth.
love and peace
hug someone new today 
regards from 158, defender of the faith, the weak and the ridiculous. | |
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| This Isn’t Drinking and Driving; It’s Drinking and Walking
Posted: 7/21/2008 7:54:04 AM | "I was placed in an unsanitary cell"
What, you expected jail to be like The Hilton? They are all like that, if not worse.
The piggies were just doing what they felt was their job. You were drunk, in public nontheless. You deserved everything that came to you. Thank God you weren't driving in that state. Recently, where I live, a guy was driving drunk and killed a family of 5, including 2 small children. Whenever I go out, I bring someone with me, and we always make sure we have somene to come pick us up if we get too drunk. If we don't, we won't get completely sh*tfaced so we don't have to pull a YOU and be drunk in public. | |
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| This Isn’t Drinking and Driving; It’s Drinking and Walking
Posted: 7/21/2008 11:54:44 AM | Again, thanks for the comments. If this were only about poor, little, ol', me, I'd just sue for wrongful arrest, false imprisonment, etc... There are loopholes in the laws that people are exploiting, and that need mending before things get out of hand (assuming they haven't already).
Anyway, alcohol is an interesting molecule. Most people in an intoxicating state are far more in control of their actions and more aware of their surroundings than others think. I think there is a difference between "intoxicated" and "drunken." When I am in a drunken state, I stagger when trying to walk and I slur my words (I was merely intoxicated on my 30th).
Furthermore, and I say this as a professional driver who holds a CDL, if a driver doesn't have time to stop, then the driver isn't paying enough attention, but there are exceptions .
P.s., I laughed when I read your first reply, fortuitousmalapropism. | |
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| This Isn’t Drinking and Driving; It’s Drinking and Walking
Posted: 7/30/2008 5:53:59 AM |
Most people in an intoxicating state are far more in control of their actions and more aware of their surroundings than others think. I think there is a difference between "intoxicated" and "drunken."
What!? You're kidding, right? No, there really is no difference between being intoxicated and being drunk, and being in a state of intoxication means your control over your actions is impaired, no matter how much you think otherwise. And you say you are a professional driver with a CDL? You need to have that taken away from you right now if you seriously think you are in control of your actions, even when intoxicated. | |
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