Патруль штату Теннессі стверджує, що тисячі затримань за керування у стані наркотичного сп’яніння були правомірними

Over the last year, it’s become clear that citizens in Tennessee have something to worry about. The state’s Highway Patrol has arrested thousands of drivers for DUI, even when tests showed no alcohol or drugs in their system. Now, under mounting scrutiny, the agency is pushing back, defending each of those arrests as justified.More: Cop Pulls Over Speeding Cop Escorting Speaker, And It Got PhysicalIn August of 2025, we reported that THP arrested at least 600 sober people for DUI. At the time, the department acknowledged that the figure was actually 2,547 arrests of sober individuals for DUI since 2017. Clearly, that’s not a great look, but according to THP Colonel Matt Perry, those arrests are justified.The Patrol’s Standard for Probable Cause“We have not had one case where our experts said, ‘This person should not have been arrested,’” Perry testified. “Every review we’ve done, there’s evidence. There are indicators.” Those indicators, according to Perry, include field sobriety test results, roadside observations, slurred speech, bloodshot or watery eyes, and odors consistent with alcohol or drugs. He also denied that troopers are simply arresting drivers after claiming to smell alcohol, stressing that decisions are based on the “totality” of observed behavior. The testimony comes amid an ongoing two-year investigation by FOX 17 News that prompted new state legislation requiring Tennessee to disclose annual “sober DUI” figures. Newly released data shows 419 such arrests statewide in 2024 alone, and again… 2,547 cases since 2017 where drivers tested negative for both alcohol and drugs.Deeper FindingsTHP accounts for a sizable share of those arrests, though the agency notes it patrols a much larger geographic area than most local departments. The news station also obtained internal THP documents, including arrest tally charts sent to troopers and a 2019 manual referencing a requirement of at least two “contacts” per hour during certain DUI enforcement shifts. A THP source claims that the benchmark applies broadly to patrol activity, not DUI arrests specifically.Despite that, it’s tough to ignore that several sober DUI arrest reports included mentions of “alcohol odors” and “failed eye tests” despite zero evidence of alcohol in the vehicle or driver in question. The state is now facing numerous lawsuits over arrests of this type. Perhaps more transparency will come of those.