DWB? Try DWBM!

That Sinking Feeling

DWB is a familiar term to some folks. You KNOW who you are!

But DWBM? And no, the “M” here isn’t for Male.

Man Jailed 3 Months for DWBM – Driving With Breath Mints?

Donald May probably wishes he had just let his breath stay funky.

According to May, it was his bad luck to be chewing on breath mints when he was pulled over for an expired tag on his car. The arresting officer thought the mints looked like crack cocaine rocks and threw Mays in the slammer for drug possession.

“He took [the mints] out of my mouth and put them in a baggy and locked me up [for] possession of cocaine and tampering with evidence,” May explained. …

The officer claimed he field-tested the evidence and it tested positive for drugs. The officer said he saw May buying drugs while he was stopped at an intersection. He also stated in his report May waived his Miranda rights and voluntarily admitted to buying drugs.

May said that never happened.”My client never admitted he purchased crack cocaine. Why would he say that?” attorney Adam Sudbury said.

May’s life was turned upside down when he was unable to bond out. While in jail for three months, May lost his job, was evicted from his apartment and his car was auctioned off. May was only released from jail once the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the State Attorney’s Office sent a letter stating test results confirmed that there were no drugs.

Believe it or not, it is possible that the mints tested positive. As it turns out, drug field tests routinely return false positives:

It’s a bit odd how often narco field testing kits turn back false positives. In the past, we’ve seen chocolate chip cookies, deodorant, billiards chalk, and Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap come back positive, all causing undeserved, firsthand familiarity with the criminal justice system for the owners of the innocuous substances. Looks like we can now add breath mints to the list.

But Donald May might just have the last laugh yet; he is suing the city for false arrest and false imprisonment and wants to be compensated for his losses. My hunch? He’s about to get paid.

Damn! Those Altoid Mints really are…

“Curiously Strong”!

Strong Enough to Test Positive?