I don't usually ask for help but I am asking now. My son has been wrongfully arrested and his constitutional rights violated in more ways than one. He is taking this to a vivil court and plans to sue the state and county for those violations. In the mean time though he needs a regular lawyer who will stand up to the judge in our county who seems to be power hungry and does not care about justice. We cannot afford an attorney so have a public defender who has done nothing to help my son's case. So I am asking my writing friends to help us come up with the money for a good lawyer. We found one but he is $2,000.00. Anything anyone can donate will help us out. Once we file the civil suit and if we win we will pay you back. To help us out go to paypal and my paypal account is kmiller1963@q.com I thank you in advance for any help you offer. But I understand people do not like to just give money out so I am posting the details of what happened here and you can decide if you want to help us out or not. I will warn you, it is a long read. Again thank-you for reading and helping if you are able. If you are not able to help financially prayers and positive vibes are appreciated.
Please don't share this on my personal wall. I am trying to keep this low profile in my community until the civil case is filed. Feel free however to share with your writing friends.
Wed January 13, 2016
Kyle’s Statement:
My mom and I ate dinner, then we played Chinese checkers
until around 9:30. I told my mom I was going to go fill up my car. That was
around 10 I think. I decided to go for a drive and drove down Oak Street to G
and then was going to go to the highway, to Handymart and home. However, not
long after I turned off on road G my tires started sliding and I lost control.
I went into the bar ditch. I was not speeding so I just kind of drove off into
the ditch. I could not get my brakes to work and could not get my steering
wheel to turn. It all happened so fast that I just do not know exactly what
happened other than it felt like I hit ice and lost control.
I called my mom and told her I was in the ditch stuck in 3
feet of snow.
My mom said she would call the insurance company to call for
a tow truck. She called me later telling me she had called them and was on her
way to pick me up until they called to say they were on the way.
A state patrol officer arrived, when I saw his lights I was somewhat
glad because I thought maybe he could help. He told me to get into his car
where it was warm.
When I stepped out of my car the officer asked if I had been
drinking or using drugs, he said he did not smell anything and he did not think
I was under the influence but he had to ask. I told him no.
I got into the officers car, and we sat there while he ran
my license and insurance. It was about 5 to 10 minutes. Long enough for him to
run them. Then my mom arrived and he got out of the car to go talk to her.
While he was gone, I took a puff of my Pro- air inhaler.
When he got back in the car he said he smelled alcohol and asked if I would be
willing to take a breath test. I said ok but it will not read right because my
inhaler has alcohol and they throw off the breathalyzers. I also told him that the inhaler smells of
alcohol. I took the test and blew .083 He asked me if I had anything to drink
at all during the day and made it sound like I would not be arrested if I said
yes so I told him I had something earlier in the day. H asked how much and I
told him a drink about 5 hours before.
Then he told me to get out of the car and take roadside
sobriety tests. He never gave me a choice, he told me to do them. It was very cold outside, the temperature in
his car read -3 at one point. It was around 10:45 when I started the test. I
did several of them then he had me get back into the car. Then he had me get
out again to perform more. It was as if he was making me take more and more so
I could fail one. I was scared to death, I have anxiety attacks and was having
a panic attack, plus I was shaking like crazy due to the cold. Then he put me
back in the car and said to sit down for a bit. The he pulled me out of the car
and told me based on the test he was going to arrest me for DUI. He cuffed me
and put me back into the car without reading me my rights. He never read me my
rights.
He asked me what medicines I take and I told him that I am
on several, I named them and one is Zanax but I told him I don’t take them
anymore.
He went over to talk to my mom and then she came over to the
car. My mom stopped and talked to me and I asked her to come to the jail to get
me. She said she would. She said something to the officer about the inhaler and
he handed it to her, she sprayed it near his face and told him it smells like
alcohol. I asked for a puff of it and he let me have two. That was the last
time I was able to use my inhaler. This was around 11:30 PM
We sat and waited for the tow truck for a while and he told
me I needed to take a chemical test and if I refused then he said “you will
lose your license and we will take your car.” I told him I demanded an
attorney. I told him I wanted a lawyer and was not going to do or say anything
else until I saw a lawyer. He told me that I cannot have a lawyer. As I was
sitting in the car I thought of my responsibilities, school, my play and so I
agreed to a test because I knew I would pass it. I asked for the blood test
because of what the first breath test blew and I knew it was wrong so I did not
want to take another one that would be wrong.
The officer told me the breath test is immediate but blood
would take a while, but the officer made it sound like I could go home and not
be booked if I agreed to the test and blew zero at the jail. I was concerned
that the breath tests would be wrong again and just wanted to go home. The
officer told me I could go home as soon as I blew zero at the jail. I figured the blood test would only take a day
or two. I did say repeatedly that I wanted a lawyer. (I don’t know any of this
and needed one to protect my rights as a citizen of the United States) we left
the scene around 12:00 and went to the hospital for the blood test. While there the nurse drew the blood and put a
label on it, it was not flipped over or mixed at all. That took just a little
bit of time, then we went to the police station around 12:30 AM January 14,
2016, and sat there maybe 5 or 10 minutes and then they took a picture of me,
patted me down, and took a breath test. I blew zero. I kept asking when I could
go all this time and still demanding a lawyer.
When I blew zero the officer said that was weird, he said, “It
shouldn’t have left your system that fast.” He filled out the report, told me
he charged me with open container and careless driving. He had told me earlier that he most likely
would not give me a ticket for going into the ditch. The new charges were as if
he was just trying to add things to this weak case. He gave me a copy and left.
Many times when I asked for a lawyer he would tell me that
it doesn’t’ work that way. This was after he cuffed me and DID NOT read me my
rights.
The jailer processed me and I asked several times if I could
make a phone call, I had given up on the attorney at this point. The jailer
said I could not make a phone call. Then I asked for my inhaler a couple of
times and he told me he couldn’t give it to me because the proper labeling and
prescription was not with it (the box it came in and prescription) who carries
that stuff around? The inhaler does have
ingredients and labeling on the medicine cartridge itself. The jailer said he
would ask the SSgt though. Then he put me in a cell for an hour. At one point,
I knocked on the door and asked when I could make a phone call and if I could
have my inhaler. He said the SSgt said no but he would ask again. He pulled me
out to fingerprint me and I asked for my inhaler again. I told him I could not
breathe. He said he was sorry but he can’t give it to me. I told him I wanted
to go to the hospital then and he said I’d have to have $1000.00 to pay, I told
him I have insurance and he said it does not cover if you are incarcerated. He
also said he would ask the SSgt because they will only take me if they think I
need to go.
He put me back in the cell. I asked for a phone call again
and he said no. I waited there 2 or 3 hours. For a part of that time I
seriously thought I might die because I could not breathe. I have never been
denied my medicine when I have asthma attacks. I was scared to death and panicking
because I am also claustrophobic. I finally laid down on the mat they give you
to lay on the cold hard floor and laid very still telling myself to relax. I
still struggled to breathe but it helped some.
I still never got my phone call or my lawyer.
I was released Thursday at 5:30 AM January 14, 2016. My mom
had to get a bail bondsman to bail me out. I was starting to wonder if I was
every going to get out because they would not let me use the phone to call.
Since this arrest I have learned a lot about my rights and
the officer never told me if I had agreed to a breath test and it blew zero
when we got there I would not even be charged, he did not tell me that I would
be charged no matter what if I take the blood test because it is not immediate.
I knew I was not drunk and figured if their machine worked right, I would go
home. This was why I wanted and demanded
a lawyer many times before AND AFTER I was arrested. I wanted someone there to
protect my rights and me.
Kim’s (mom) Side
Kyle and I ate dinner and played Chinese checkers, 3 games.
Then around 10, he said he was going to get gas. It was not even 15 minutes
until he called and told me he had run off into a ditch. So I told him I would
call the insurance and get the tow arranged, then I would come get him. I wanted
to get all of that rolling. Once I got it arranged I called to tell him I was
on my way.
When I got to Kyle and his car, I saw the police lights and
was glad there was an officer there. Then I would not have to worry about
things. The tow company had just called to say they were on their way too.
The officer walked up to my car and I asked where Kyle was.
He told me in his car keeping warm. We looked at the car and talked about how
stuck it was. Then I said something to the effect that Kyle could come wait
with me. He told me that he needed to wait around to see if there were any
damages to Kyle’s car. I asked him if
Kyle was going to get a ticket and he told me that depended on if the car had
damages or not. I told him it is all beat up and old and he said he would see
if there were any new damages. He said if there are then he will call it an
accident and had to issue a ticket. He
told me to get back into my car.
I watched his car and all the sudden he had Kyle out doing roadside
sobriety tests. I was surprised because he was not drunk and had not been
drinking at the house. My first thought was his inhaler and how I tell him he
smells like booze even when we are in the car and I know he has just used it.
It smells like alcohol for a while after he uses it. I also was wondering how
in the heck he could pass a test in that freezing weather and add to that his
anxiety. As for the weather, I was
shaking violently while I was talking to the officer.
The tow truck came and I talked to them. Then I saw them
cuff Kyle and the officer came over to me and told me Kyle blew.082 and he was taking him in for DUI because of that and he
failed some of the tests. I made a comment about how I could not pass them in
the cold. I went with him to the car to get Kyle’s things and talked to Kyle.
While we were at the back of the car I saw Kyle’s inhaler and squirted it in
the officer’s face to show him how it smells like booze, he did not comment.
Then I went to talk to Kyle and he asked me to get him at the jail. I said I
would. Then he asked for a puff of the inhaler and also said the cuffs were too
tight and asked if they could be loosened.
I went back to my car because I was shaking violently from the cold
again and never saw if they loosened his cuffs.
The officer and tow driver told me they would have to
impound Kyle’s car. I told them that I work out of town and asked if they could
just bring it to my house. They decided to bring it to my house. I never saw
the officer look in the car.
The tow driver needed me to move because two of them had to
get Kyle’s car out because of how it was stuck. It was on an incline and they
did not want to tip it over. So I moved behind the cop cars. (another officer
had shown up at some point) the arresting officer came to my car around 12 and
told me he was going to take Kyle to get a blood test. He said he finally
convinced Kyle that was what he needed to do or something like that. I asked
how long it would take and he said it would all take about 40 minutes and then
I could pick him up at the jail.
He got back into his car and I never saw him get out again.
He left about 10 min later.
I waited for the tow truck to get the car out. The other
officer said he needed to stick around to see if the car was damaged. So once
it was on the tow truck I went home and they brought it home. I looked it over
in the dark and could see no new scratches. The tow driver said there were some
but with all the mud I do not know how they could tell. (I looked the next day
and there are no new scratches on the car.)
Once the car was at the house I went to the jail. This was
around 12:40 AM Jan 14. The jailer did not even know who Kyle was and told me
once they get him there it may take an hour or more to book him because if he
gets busy he has to do something else. So, I went home and called in 40
minutes. Kyle was there but they said they hadn’t booked him yet. He was in a
holding cell waiting to be processed. I asked if he could have Kyle call me
when that was done and he told me that he can’t tell Kyle to call me but if
Kyle asks to make a call he can call me.
So I waited for 40 more minutes and they said it would be around 30
minutes so I said I would just come there then.
I arrived at the jail around 3 AM and the jailer said it
would be $1,000.00 bail. I about fainted. He gave me a list of bail bondsmen
numbers. I called them until I reached one. The bail bondsman said he had to be
blowing zero before they would release him so I needed to find out if he was.
When I asked the man who answered the intercom said he blew zero when he got
there. So I asked why he was even booked and he said that is not his call. I
went to get money and the bondsman had the paper work started. He finally got
there at 4 Am and this all took until around 5:30.
They handed me Kyle’s inhaler and gave him his driver’s
license. The officer did not pull it.
We had to pay $150.00 for bail and $40.00 court fees.
On Friday the 15th Kyle went to his hearing and
was told he has to take random drug and alcohol tests as a part of the pre-trial
process. This is all before he has been convicted of anything. This is a
complete violation of his rights.
Kyle said the jail was horrible, they have mats on the cold
floor, they have a toilet that does not work and it is cold and awful. It was a
very terrifying experience for him.
On Thursday Kyle had to call a taxi to go to school and such
because his car would not start because he was not able to start his car
because the battery had died and he was not home to charge it.
On January 16 Saturday Kyle had to go in to drug test, it
was humiliating and horrible. He had to undress completely. This is all for
someone who has not yet been proven guilty of a crime. This is a complete
violation of rights. The drug and alcohol tests are usually a part of the sentence
once you are found guilty. This is saying he is guilty and has to prove his innocence,
which is a complete violation of his rights.
Since this we have learned a lot about how things work. Kyle
should have just went with the breath test and it would have all been settled
at the jail and over.
The careless driving is bogus because he hit ice. The
officer said there was no ice but I drove the road tonight Jan 15 to see and I
saw a small area that could be black ice late at night. It was a wet area during
the day. If you were to hit it just right it could send you out of
control. I took a picture for proof. Also,
the snow was way over the shoulder and Kyle tends to drive close to the
shoulder to be safe on the narrow roads. He might have hit an icy patch there
and was sent into the ditch. His car was not damaged at all.
The open container is bogus because Kyle came home and saw
no alcohol container in his car. It was full of root beer bottles, soda cans
and those raspberry lemonade cans as well as Monster drinks. No alcoholic
containers.
Kyle asked for an attorney several times before and after
his arrest. He consented to the blood
test because he was coerced, the officer threatened him and he was scared. If
he had a lawyer, he would have known what to do. He would have taken his
chances on the breath test again because he would not have used his inhaler for
a while.
He was never given a phone call and was denied his inhaler,
which is a life or death thing. He could die if he can’t breathe and the jail had
no right to deny him the medicine he needs to sustain his breath and survive.
His rights were again violated in court when the judge
passed sentence on him by ordering the drug and alcohol testing before he is
found guilty. He now has to stay around town, has to be a slave to the phone
and call in and that is a violation of his constitutional rights. All he did
wrong was use his inhaler and hit an icy patch sending him into a ditch.
This entire experience has traumatized Kyle. Being arrested,
taking the sobriety tests, not being able to make a call, being denied life
sustaining medicine and being humiliated by taking his clothes off for a drug
and alcohol urine test before he has even been proven guilty.
His rights are also violated because he can’t leave town
when he wants to and is a prisoner to the drug test. He also has to take his
pants off and pee in front of someone for the drug test. That is a violation of
his right to privacy when he has done nothing wrong. They also expect him to
pay for the drug tests, which is another violation of his constitutional
rights.
February 19, 2016
Kyle called and his blood results are still not in. He was
told it could take up to 4 months. This is another violation because he has the
right to a speedy trial and it is not his fault they are slow. The officer
never told him it would take so long. On
Tuesday he is going to tell them they have nothing against him and need to drop
the case.
February 23, 2016
Kyle went to court to set a date for a trial but when he went
before the judge she said that he had not called in to the pre-trial testing
twice, once on Feb 13 and the other time on Feb 16. He told her that his phone
has been acting up and his lawyer attested to that fact because she had trouble
getting in touch with him but the judge said sent him to jail and said the bond
is 1500.00. They took Kyle to jail, I bailed him out. Then he told me that he
only missed calling on one time and it was a Tuesday so he didn’t worry about
it because they never have him come in on Tuesday and the other time, the 16th
he called in and went in and tested but the testing facility failed to let the
courts know. He has not paid the court
for these “services” and the bail bondsman said that is why he was sent to jail
most likely but the judge can’t say that because it is against the law to send
someone to jail for not paying that so she found another reason to send him to
jail.
The main rub in all of this is that he did nothing wrong, he
has not been found guilty of anything so should not be going to the drug tests.
He is being treated like a criminal when he has done nothing wrong.
The fact that his blood results are not back also shows that
the courts are not doing their job. The judge was mad about some results that
were not back regarding a case today when they were taken Feb 5. Kyle’s are
much older than that but she never batted an eye that his results are not in.
Kyle‘s court date is not until April 18. Until then he will
have to succumb to the pre-trial punishment or be placed in jail.
