What can we learn from a case where a law enforcement officer gets caught driving recklessly and dangerously under the influence of alcohol?

Turns out, more than you might think.

The Case

This past April, a former Stevens County Deputy Sheriff received a deferred sentence after driving while intoxicated through a crash scene and leading police on a high-speed chase last Thanksgiving in Flathead County, Montana.

The Flathead Beacon takes up the story:

According to court records, Hoover was driving down Montana Highway 35 in Creston on Nov. 23, 2017 when he drove through the scene of a fatal crash and struck a vehicle. A Montana Highway Patrol trooper who was helping investigate the crash got into his vehicle and started to chase Hoover […] Hoover and the trooper reached speeds upwards of 100 miles per hour.
…
[Hoover eventually turned] onto Sonstelie Road, where he stopped the vehicle and turned off the lights. Hoover then exited the vehicle with his hands in the air. Hoover admitted that he was looking at his phone when he approached the crash scene and never saw the vehicle he allegedly hit. Hoover took a breathalyzer test and blew a .178, twice the legal limit, according to court records.

The former officer was charged with felony criminal endangerment and misdemeanor DUI, to which he initially pleaded not guilty before later changing that plea. He was given a three-year deferred sentence for felony criminal endangerment, plus a suspended concurrent 175-day jail sentence.

Lessons We Can Learn From It

For one thing, it shows that of course anyone can get a DUI—even an off-duty law enforcement officer. But it also brings up three object lessons:

1. Keep your mobile phone out of reach when you drive so that it doesn’t distract you. Washington state distracted-driving laws are distinct from DUI, and they’re some of the strictest in the country. They disallow not just holding a personal device while you drive, but also associate an additional fine to activities like eating and drinking, applying makeup, shaving, and others if they do contribute to a traffic violation.

2. If you get into an accident, stay put—especially if you’ve had even a single drink. Don’t drive away, because you don’t need a hit-and-run on top of a DUI charge.

3. Do not submit to a breathalyzer test. Besides the obvious mistakes Deputy Hoover made, he somehow failed to remember that the test is voluntary in most states (including Montana as well as Washington) and officers can rely on it to build probable cause to arrest you.