LAWYER: Drunk Police Captain Abuses His Authority

You would think cops would know how to talk to other cops, but this drunk police captain did everything wrong after getting pulled over. You should never drink and drive, but how should you act if you ever get pulled over?
Footage: • Police Captain Suspect...
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[@SyDiko]

" Dont talk to the police, even if you ARE the police. " - Flusche

[@probuilder961]

As a sober driver on our public roadways, I appreciate the steps that Capt. French took to incriminate himself.

[@knghtbrd]

Given that he was looking to abuse his position for "professional courtesy", I tend to agree on those grounds alone. Apparently, and there's some data somewhere to back this up but I don't have it to hand, a majority of first-time offenders are caught being caught serves as a wake-up call, and they take steps to NOT re-offend. The dude was drunk, obviously, and if he'd done everything right they'd still have arrested him, gotten a warrant for a test, etc. But his defense attorney would have more room to get him some kind of deal. He might've even been able to keep his job, provided he did not re-offend. Instead he repeatedly asked for special consideration as a cop and for being higher up in the food chain. He demonstrated multiple times in multiple ways he was absolutely hammered, he admitted he'd been drinking, etc. There won't be any deal. He's definitely gonna lose his job. He might still turn things around and never drink and drive again. Except he's going to be doing all of that from the position of possibly getting the book thrown at him for drunk driving despite being a pretty high ranking cop, and trying to abuse his position to avoid the consequences. Dude's got only himself to blame for driving drunk, then doing everything possible to compound his mistakes.

[@Toshineko]

Amazing how even the police don't understand their rights. Goes to show how sadly ignorant of the law they are, especially this police captain.

[@anonnymowse]

That is because they are so used to getting people to violate their own rights that they may forget, especially when drunk, what their rights are.

[@MurraysMethods]

The captain is totally wasted. Good job on the officer for treating him like everybody else.

[@mattbrown5511]

Only because he is concerned about his own pension.

[@Inpreesme]

an honest cop, A rare unicorn indeed

[@BillySBC]

He's doing more than just asking the Sergeant to let him go, he's asking the Sergeant to put his career on the line for him because the bodycam is on and if the Sergeant shuts it off it's going to land him in big trouble too. A Captain should know that.

[@Norm-R]

I'm not only curious what happens to the captain, but the sergeant as well. I know plenty of these good cops who try to do the right thing and not show favoritism often face trouble finding promotions or other benefits in the force since other officers say well you don't have our back when we do something illegal. Or they get told they need to play the game. We need more officers like the sergeant in this video who are willing to uphold the law regardless of the person committing the crime.

[@cementer7665]

"good cops', do you also believe in unicorns, the tooth fairy, and other fables?

[@TheSupervillain316]

​@@cementer7665 problem is one like this Sergeant will not be cops for long, they'll get bullied out

[@mattbrown5511]

I don't believe this so-called sergeant is the saint everyone seems to believe him to be.

[@TheSupervillain316]

@@mattbrown5511 not completely convinced either but at least he didn't roll over to the Capt

[@johnferguson40]

I love AFs content. Keep them comming Andrew.

[@JV-pu8kx]

Actually, the best way to avoid a DUI is to do what I do: I _never_ touch the stuff.

[@buckeyenative1365]

If the captain was capable enough to ask to turn off the body cam, he was fully capable of calling an Uber or family to come get him. That people still DUI fully knowing the consequences is just selfish and entitled behavior.

[@Pfsif]

The merciless asks for mercy. FU

[@TheSupervillain316]

Nailed it

[@pjengland01]

Although inebriated persons have the right to remain silent, they often lack the ability to remain silent.

[@andycopeland7051]

Oh yes I saw this when it happened. I'm from Oklahoma just like this police captain is and it was embarrassing. Really sad as you watch his face knowing his life is ruined

[@mattbrown5511]

He did it to himself. I have no sympathy for him just like he has had zero sympathy for others during his career.

[@andycopeland7051]

@@mattbrown5511 did you know him or have you seen his work?

[@mattbrown5511]

Nice strawman argument Andy.

[@andycopeland7051]

@@mattbrown5511 oh so you're one of those ACAB guys I see. Mean and sucks at word comprehension. I never made an argument. Simply said it's sad anytime you watch someone ruin his life (at least for me it is; perhaps youre so full of hate that you enjoy watching people destroy themselves). Then I asked if you knew anything about him since you seemed to know about his career. That's all. No argument. Have a nice day.

[@bennydave4160]

It's not sad. How many lives has he and his inner circle cronies ruined? Lives who were not as well off and committed lesser offenses, if any offenses at all.

[@granden2077]

There was a previous video of yours that showed an officer answering his door at home with a beer in his hand and was arrested for dui.

[@davidely7032]

The cop was ... unwise ... to turn his camera off, even if the policy allows for that. Apparently those cops don't value the cover-your-butt approach to sticky situations. 🙄

[@BobbyCarbonKJV]

Sir, the body cam is for your protection. If I decide to take a length of rubber hose out and start smacking you around; I’m sure you’ll want the camera to keep rolling to prove abuse of force.

[@RideUpstate]

If you're impaired you're not going to remember anything a lawyer advises.

[@REXOB9]

Terrible how people in power will abuse it, and will ask others to support the abuse. That sergeant is a true hero.

[@dr.extralarge9889]

its a good day when the 2nd best youtube lawyer uploads

[@newguy2794]

Who is the first?

[@dr.extralarge9889]

@@newguy2794 Attorney Tom

[@Shadobanned4life]

Sad.Very sad.

[@mixter7x7]

Andrew - love your channel. There are apparently states that MANDATE roadside cooperation with breathalyzer and dexterity testing. Refusal violates implied consent agreement when you sign for your driver's license and guarantees license revocation / suspension, but I don't know if it's considered a default conviction or if it goes on your record as a conviction. I don't know how a court could accuse / imply that because you refused testing you are automatically assumed guilty aside from the waiver you sign to get your license. Don't drink and drive. Learn your local laws and know your rights.

[@stereotyp0o]

How do you politely turn down field sobriety tests when the officer is instructing you rather than asking you?

[@michaelwood8071]

Just make the verbal statement I do not submit to tests. Then it’s on camera and anything they do past that is inadmissible. Ie. fruit of a poison tree.

[@SF2K01]

"No I won't, thank you."

[@Andrewflusche]

Invoke your right to remain silent and don't move.

[@TheKingOfInappropriateComments]

It's Wednesday, October 4th. You can start watching youtube videos showing drunk cops getting pulled over for DWI tomorrow morning at 6 am, and if you watch non-stop without taking any breaks, not even a bathroom break, you might just get them all by the time the ball drops on New Years Eve.

[@Bream243]

If you are old like me and cannot remember every thing Mr. Flusche is telling you here, just remember this, (1) Do not talk to the police. (2) shut your mouth shut while not talking to the police. (3) keep your mouth shut even if you have to staple it shut. (4) You do NOT have to take any tests. If you cannot remember the above, then remember this. If you have had any alcohol in the last 24 hours, do not go near any motor vehicle. Better yet, do what I did. Quit drinking. You only think you need it. Life is fine without it.

[@Menstral]

Police have to deal with such a high percentage of scum, and so often, that I have a lot more sympathy than I used to. Now a horrifying sample of this bad behavior by miscreants is even documented for anybody to watch. Good guy or bad guy, whether he deserved a break or not... This guy's goose is cooked. It was possible to call a cab long before you could call an Uber or Lyft

[@kma6881]

It amazes me that people actually do those field sobriety tests.

[@michaelwood8071]

The police can be very coercive. They talk to dozens of people every day. You might talk to a cop once a decade. That alone is a huge psychological advantage.

[@kma6881]

@@michaelwood8071 true. Even that is too frequent. They also have training on how to bypass rights. On top of that, they regularly go to elementary schools and “teach” kids how to interact with the police. Hopefully, people like Andrew Flusche get more press.

[@JakeStrange66]

Some cops will threaten to add on charges, or actually do it, if you refuse the tests...even invoke your rights. A cop in WV threatened to literally fabricate charges against me because I invoked my 5th amendment right to remain silent. Luckily he didn't follow through.

[@LilT2o00]

They legit tried to give me a DUI on my pedal bicycle. I just said no thanks to field sobriety and breathalyzer. They suspended my license for a year, but I don't even own a car anyways and I haven't driven in 15 years. With the extreme lack of evidence (all they had was "we smelled alcohol" i wasn't even stopped for how i was biking it was because they didn't put tape around a murder scene and they got mad i was going through it like how was i supposed to know?) , got it reduced to a traffic violation (Wreckless driving) and just paid the fine for that and moved on with my life

[@mikeycrabtree123]

Depending upon the state, bicycles are considered subject to all traffic laws, including the requirements for sobriety during operation. Even though only hearing your side of the story, the reason they stopped you is agreeably a load of bullshit, if you were, in fact, intoxicated, then local law enforcement had every right to charge you accordingly. I'm glad you didn't have to suffer severe long-term effects of that charge.

[@LilT2o00]

@@mikeycrabtree123 unlawful stop is no diff in a car than on a bike. Since they had no legal reason to stop me, anything they found after is a no go. That's how I was able to beat the charge so easily if that went to court, I'd have beat it (but that's a long, lengthy process and more expensive, so it was just easier to take the wreckless driving the prosecution offered to drop it to since that's a moving violation and not a crime, the fine was less than what I would have paid for an attorney if we took it to trial; and i was able tto get that deal with a public defender)

[@LilT2o00]

@@mikeycrabtree123 also in Florida the law is different if you're on the road, you're a vehicle, but you're actually considered a pedestrian on the sidewalk legally here. I was on the sidewalk

[@hailholyghost]

In many states, you *don't* have the right to refuse tests, it's called implicit consent

[@olskool3967]

do you think if there wasn't a camera would they have taken him to jail or take him home? LOL,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[@krismikewill]

Old friend of mine was an officer in a college town (Gainesville FL... University of Florida) and he opposed body cams. To cover his crimes? No. He told me of many times he had allowed stupid, drunk college students that had to that point not harmed anyone to get drivers to take them home, or seeing plain view marijuana in the car and simply confiscating without arrest, etc. He argued that the body cams gave him zero latitude. Right or wrong, that was his philosophy.

[@helmet098]

Im so happy he got a paid vacation

[@1anthonybrowning]

Good job on the officer for not showing favoritism and doing his job professionally.

[@rcuadro]

Who wants to be the thin blue line is going to shit on the sergeant for doing this? I also would not be surprised if get gets a medal and then shunned.

[@TheSupervillain316]

Probably

[@davidcaudill7779]

I would like to see an update of this case

[@patrickmcdonald8513]

He had a lot more than three or four beers if he was drunk enough to say that

[@krismikewill]

How big were those beers?

[@patrickmcdonald8513]

@@krismikewill good point.

[@chrissauter7501]

4:27 field sobriety tests are not voluntary on military installations. A refusal is An automatic arrest incident

[@krismikewill]

In Florida, you can refuse field sobriety tests. You cannot refuse chemical tests without penalty (year suspension of driver's license), so breathalyzer/urine/blood tests AFTER arrest on suspicion of DUI cannot be refused without penalty. If someone is drunk as hell, refusal is the best option since that penalty is much less than a DUI conviction . But, don't be a dick and drive plastered. You will never pass the field sobriety test, frankly, and the subjective tests just allow the officer/deputy/trooper to argue for justification regarding the arrest in the first place, but never on site exoneration.

[@chrissauter7501]

@krismikewill State laws are irrelevant to military installations for 99.999% of things. Some do follow the state traffic laws, but they don't have to. Refuse a sobriety test while on a military installation? You are automatically arrested and charged!!!

[@krismikewill]

@@chrissauter7501 I'm not a JAG, and I was not referencing practices on military installations. I was speaking to statutory law for the state of Florida and, while not offering any legal advice, noting common case law results. I was intentionally drawing a contrast to your claim regarding military installation practices. For instance, my grandmother received a speeding ticket on base in 1961. My grandfather, then a lieutenant colonel, went to driving school...not her. I am aware that infidelity can be prosecuted criminally under the UCMJ, but is only a civil action leading to divorce that holds ramifications in only a few "at fault" divorce states (I stay away from family law...really emotionally taxing).

[@mattbrown5511]

Just another corrupt, dirty, evil law enforcement officer that believes that they are above the laws that they hold over the heads of the peasants. This pile deserves to be held to the absolute maximum legal consequences of his despicable actions.

[@johnwilde164]

One time I was pulled over for obviously speeding on an empty road at 2 in the morning. Police: Do you know how fast you were going? Me: No (a lie). His speed radar wasn't turned on, so he just gave me a lecture and sent me on my way.

[@TheSimArchitect]

How much does someone have to drink to be that bad? I can stuff my face to the point of throwing up but I am able to stand on a single feet (I fried, at home, of course, I refuse to drive with noticeable alcohol in my system, I like to have at least 24 hours without anything, usually more, before driving)

[@ranger135xp]

Lol, leave with pay = vacation/PTO As a common worker, we don't earn vacation by doing something wrong while they figure out what to do with us. We get punished or terminated right then and there.

[@johnwesley256]

I think it'd be ok to talk in an illegal stop quoting laws in order for the cop to lose immunity. This would not be the time to talk. If you're drinking they can even use your slurred speech against you.

[@krismikewill]

They ALWAYS hear "slurred speech," even when I have the videos from their body cam and the defendant's dash cam, and there is zero slurring.

[@someonespadre]

8 hours from bottle to throttle

[@ivtec4fun55]

of course the cop doesn't know his own rights LOL no wonder they don't give citizens their own either.

[@ksw501]

Bet the good captain will retire with full pension and benefits before he’s convicted for DUI

[@jbroadway12]

We need a Bruce rivers collab

[@jacksondarby746]

I hate that even if this one was video taped how many other cops got away with it? How many others caused accidents and blamed the other person simply because of a badge. It makes one wonder

[@r.d1331]

Just wondering if the sergeant would do the same procedures, if it was his family/father/brother or his own son. We all break the law at some point in our lives, whether it's something as petty as using your cellphone while driving. I just think the sergeant was out to humiliate the captain and stroke his own ego.

[@raymondwatts5372]

So how can you help people that are actually inebriated?

[@johnjordan464]

Am I legally required to answer questions like “Where have you been?” Or “Where are you headed?” Seems like unreasonable questions, but are they legal?

[@krismikewill]

They are perfectly legal questions. You are not legally required to answer. Beware if you do start answering questions and then go silent (Salinas vs. Texas...he voluntarily answered all kinds of questions, without an attorney, and went silent when they asked if the shotgun shells would match his dad's gun, then answered follow-up questions. His silence was used as "proof" of confession.). You're better off asserting that you are not discussing your shitty day. Some argue that you must immediately assert 5th Amendment and say you're STFU; some attorneys say no engagement, complete silence, is good since the body cams and testimony would be, "I asked him all kinds of stuff and he said nothing." Contra Salinas, he answered dozens of questions and clammed up. Your complete silence would be difficult to make an argument for guilt, but perhaps the safest way is to assert your 5th and 6th Amendment protections and then STFU.

[@calebvasquez1]

🇺🇸

[@josephkoszalka6516]

Sir I need your advice I believe my husband's car was illegally repossessed we live in Arizona and they are operating under Colorado law I know a fair bit of law but I can't find anything that makes it legal for my husband's bank to repossess his car especially when he gave a cash down payment I'm afraid that's considered collateral and they came into a gated private property that isn't the address on file in a different state and they are giving excuses galore moreover the equipment in the car is worth more than the car in the felony theft level can I seek a lawsuit for this

[@wlonsdale1]

The bank owns your the car until you pay it off.

[@josephkoszalka6516]

What if I told you they are operating under an expired repo order

[@newguy2794]

Andrew, why do doctors and lawyers call it practicing? Didn't you practice cases in school and didn't doctors practice on cadavers, So , shouldn't practice time be over?😢 Please help me with this. Thank you in advance.😂

[@krismikewill]

"Practice" means to perform an action/activity, as opposed to study and theorize without having put the tenets of study into use. The meaning of the term has changed in the vernacular over time. We use practice to mean that you are learning for the sake of improvement, whereas the original meaning conveyed putting into use the material already learned. Does that mean that experienced professionals of any trade do not learn through "practice," from doing their trade not at 100% success? Of course not. New problems arise and are confronted.

[@newguy2794]

@@krismikewill thank you. Great answer 🏆

[@itowmyhome797]

Don’t ever assume that someone in a place of authority deserves the respect that ‘they say’ these deserve

[@anonnymowse]

But Andrew, you have never ever told us not to talk to the police.

[@plasmaman9592]

I don't know why you would say this. Alleged crime immediately after the cop asked him if he was drinking and he shook his head Yes, and mouthed the word, yes. I don't care if you're a lawyer or not. If someone admits to something, it's no longer alleged. I love what you do here for us and at your practice, but when a cop admits to a crime we need to not play word games. There are way too many bad cops of varying degrees of corruption and abuse

[@vinceontheweb]

It's to protect himself legally, otherwise he opens himself up for a defamation lawsuit. The news does the same thing, they'll show you a video of someone getting hit and say "The alleged assault...". It's just a manner of speech, not an endorsement of the cop's actions.