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Monday, June 29, 2009
Disabled Man Sues Over Arrest
By T.J. Wilham
Copyright © 2009 Albuquerque Journal
Journal Staff Writer
Samuel Lucero's speech was slurred. He couldn't recite the alphabet backward or count from 56 to zero.
He was booked for driving under the influence and thrown in jail for 2 1/2 days, even though his blood-alcohol content was 0.0 percent. Absent any evidence of alcohol consumption, officers concluded he was under the influence of drugs.
The problem? Lucero, 27, is developmentally disabled.
According to court records, Lucero has organic brain damage his family believes occurred at birth. It affects his speech. He also has a learning disability and spent much of his life in special education or home-school.
Charges were dismissed six months after his arrest when blood tests showed there were no illegal drugs in his body. He told police that, at the time of his arrest, he had consumed a can of Sprite, some Tylenol, Benadryl and Sudafed for a chronic sinus problem.
Now, the Albuquerque Police Department is fighting a civil lawsuit filed by Lucero's attorney in 2007. The lawsuit falls under Mayor Martin Chávez's no settlement policy.
The city claims it has immunity from being sued because the officer had probable cause to make an arrest, and city attorneys have filed a motion seeking dismissal.
Deputy City Attorney Kathy Levy said Lucero did not tell officers he was suffering from any medical conditions or disabilities.
"I do not want to try this in the press," she said. "I will say the officers had probable cause to execute an arrest."
According to police records, Lucero was pulled over in October 2005 after an Albuquerque police officer saw him driving his pickup near Central and 53rd with green lights on the hood.
The officer noticed Lucero's speech was slurred. Lucero said he had a speech problem, but the officer made him get out of the truck and perform a series of field sobriety tests, according to Lucero's lawsuit. Lucero couldn't count or recite the alphabet backward, walk in a straight line or balance on one leg, according to the lawsuit.
Lucero told the officers he couldn't do the alphabet test or count backward because he had quit school at an early age, according to the lawsuit.
The officer arrested Lucero, took him to a police station and made him take breath tests.
When Lucero passed, the officer said, "I'm going to find out what is wrong with you," the lawsuit states.
The officer then took Lucero to the main Downtown police station, where another officer, a drug recognition expert, gave him more tests. That officer took Lucero's blood pressure, pulse, examined his eyes and measured his breathing, according to police reports. The officer concluded Lucero was under the influence of marijuana and depressants, according to the lawsuit.
The officer drew a blood sample for later testing and put Lucero in jail.
It took several months for the blood test results to come back. Meanwhile, Lucero had to hire an attorney and make several court appearances. It took six months for a judge to dismiss the charges, according to Metropolitan Court records. The officer who arrested Lucero never appeared in court for any of the hearings, according to the lawsuit.
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