ARREST OF OFFICER IS RULED IMPROPER

Judge Says Trooper Acted Without Cause

NAPOLEON - An Ohio Highway Patrol trooper did not have probable cause to
arrest Henry County's former D.A.R.E. officer for drinking and driving in
April, a visiting judge ruled.

Judge Michael O'Malley made his decision late Friday in Napoleon Municipal
Court in the case of Debra Pittman, 42, who had worked for the sheriff's
office for nearly 25 years at the time of her arrest April 26. She resigned
less than a week later.

Ms. Pittman was arrested on County Road L at State Rt. 65 near her home.
She was charged with driving under the influence, not wearing her seat
belt, and having a broken taillight. She was placed on administrative
suspension with pay pending a departmental investigation, which was nearly
complete when Ms. Pittman retired, Sheriff John Nye has said.

In his ruling, Judge O'Malley said the case involving Ms. Pittman was an
example of "an equipment-failure stop - no bad driving." He described the
conversation involving Ms. Pittman and Defiance OHP Trooper Anthony Brady
as civil in nature and said that Ms. Pittman's actions were "not unusual
for a late-night stop on a rural roadway."

He ordered that Ms. Pittman's license, which was pulled at the time of her
arrest, be returned to her immediately with full driving privileges. Judge
O 'Malley also suppressed any evidence obtained after her arrest. The three
misdemeanor charges remain pending against Ms. Pittman in Municipal Court.
Pretrial and trial dates have not been scheduled.

But Ms. Pittman's attorney, E. Charles Bates of Defiance, said he intends
to continue fighting the DUI charge, using Judge O'Malley's decision in his
effort. He has argued that it is not a crime to drink before driving, only
to be legally intoxicated when doing so. "If the judge finds there's not
sufficient cause to arrest, it seems rather unlikely they could prove
beyond a reasonable doubt she was under the influence," Mr. Bates said.
"She did nothing wrong. She didn't swerve; she didn't weave."

David Land, the special prosecutor in the case, was in court yesterday and
could not be reached for comment.

In making his decision, Judge O'Malley listened to testimony on June 27
from Trooper Brady and watched a videotape of the stop. Based upon the
evidence, the judge learned the trooper pulled Ms. Pittman over because the
vehicle she was driving lacked rear lights.

When the trooper approached the vehicle, he reported smelling a strong,
pungent odor of alcohol.

He further noted that Ms. Pittman had red, glassy eyes.

The first thing Ms. Pittman gave to Trooper Brady was her sheriff's badge,
but she later produced her driver's license and registration.

After Ms. Pittman and her passenger got out of the pickup to check its rear
lights, the trooper observed that Ms. Pittman's passenger was intoxicated.

The passenger was sent back to the vehicle.

The trooper said he smelled a moderate odor of alcohol on Ms. Pittman's breath.

When asked, she told him she had consumed two beers since about 10 p.m. Ms.
Pittman refused twice to take a field sobriety test.

In his opinion, Judge O'Malley said it would be good police practice for
one officer to identify himself or herself to another after being stopped.

The judge added that a person who refuses to take a sobriety test could do
so as a "purely innocent exercise of a legal right to the other extreme of
a concealment of guilt."