Constitutional Law

DUI arrest video of Vt. official released after ruling

By By The Associated Press

MONTPELIER, Vt. ? A police video of state Auditor Thomas Salmon's 2009 drunken-driving arrest was released yesterday after judge ruled in favor of a lawyer who was refused access to the footage sued the state.

Lawyer John Franco, a supporter of Democratic auditor candidate Doug Hoffer, sued to get the dashboard video of the arrest of Salmon, a Republican seeking re-election.

On Oct. 27, Washington Superior Court Judge Geoffrey Crawford rejected the state's argument that the video be withheld because it was part of a criminal investigation and said the state must produce it by yesterday afternoon.

"There is no claim in this case that disclosure of the DUI video will compromise a confidential informant or reveal anything about a continuing investigation," the judge wrote. "There is also no claim that it will disclose information about a person who has been found innocent of the charge. There is no individual victim. The investigation and arrest occurred within a few minutes in a public setting. In short, the state's policy concerns have validity, but they do not apply to this particular record of an initial arrest."

In the video, Salmon makes sure that a state trooper knows he is state auditor after being stopped on suspicion of drunken driving. He later apologizes for bringing up his position. Salmon tells the trooper he had two glasses of red wine during a dinner with staff. At a press conference later he said he had had five drinks. He recorded a 0.095 blood-alcohol content in roadside sobriety tests. The legal limit is 0.08. Salmon appears in the video to struggle with the tests.

"Now, you know I'm state auditor," Salmon says as the trooper is about to administer a breathalyzer test. "Like you know ... the treasurer, the governor, the lieutenant governor. The trooper responds: "I understand. I've got to do my job."

Later Salmon says: "I want to apologize for that 'Do you know who I am?' kind of thing. That's not appropriate."

"No, sir, it was not," the trooper replies. "I appreciate the apology, though."

In the footage, Salmon is cooperative but expresses reluctance at being handcuffed.

Salmon said he questioned Franco's motivation in bringing the court case but took no position on the case.

Earlier this month, a federal judge said the request was a subject for state court, not federal court.

On Oct. 27, Franco argued that the video was a record of the arrest and should be made available. "It reflects on Mr. Salmon's judgment," he said after the hearing. Franco said later he was delighted with the judge's ruling.

The topic of Salmon's arrest became a political issue after video was released of police stopping Democratic gubernatorial candidate Peter Shumlin for speeding in June. Franco filed a lawsuit in federal court after he said he paid for a copy of Salmon's DUI video with a credit card off the Department of Public Service's website but never received it. His account was later credited.

Public Safety Commission Thomas Tremblay, who was appointed by Republican Gov. Jim Douglas, said the difference in the two cases is that Shumlin's speeding stop was a civil case but Salmon's DUI arrest was a criminal one.

Franco said he didn't see the difference.

Full post as published by First Amendment Center on October 28, 2010 (boomark / email).