In Response To Viral Video, Jeffco Sheriff's Office Releases Body Camera Video
UPDATE: Jeffco Sheriff's Deputy Accepts Apology From 18-Year-Old Woman Who Posted Viral Video
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office responded to a video which went viral on social media on Monday. It shows a young woman claiming to be drunk and had just been pulled over by a Jeffco Sheriff's deputy.
The 18-year-old woman claims the deputy let her go, gave her his phone number and asked her to lunch. In the video, the woman claims the deputy gave her a sobriety test in which she blew a 3.8; .08 is the legal BAC limit, and blowing a 3.8 would be deadly.
The sheriff's office says that story is false. Body camera video worn by the deputy in question, released by the sheriff's office on social media, tells a very different story.
The video shows the deputy pulling the 18-year-old woman over in a dark sedan at around 4:45 a.m. on Saturday, April 2. The deputy says she was swerving and wanted to know if she had been drinking.
The woman says no and becomes emotional. The deputy asks if she was distracted, perhaps looking at her phone. The woman says no and adds she was just broken up with and was very upset.
Sheriff's officials say the deputy did not smell alcohol, and there was no evidence of it in the car. He says the woman did not slur her speech. The deputy did not perform a breathalyzer test, officials said.
The deputy asks for her driver's license, which the woman provides, however she claimed the car belonged to her mother, and she didn't know where the proof of insurance was in the car.
The deputy eventually lets the woman go with a warning.
"The deputy cleared her name for any warrants, verified the vehicle's license plate which came back clear, and issued the driver a warning for weaving. Prior to releasing the driver, in compliance with Colorado law, the deputy handed her a business card upon which he had written his name, badge number, and 'South' for our South Precinct. He also wrote 'LNR Weaving' for Lecture and Release. Nowhere on the card was the deputy's phone number," the sheriff's office stated on Monday afternoon.
It's not clear if the woman will face any discipline or consequences for her statements.
