In our last two articles, we discussed the case of former Florida Fish and Wildlife Deputy David Salcido, who was involved in a December 18, 2008 crash that resulted in injuries to two men. The Pinellas County State Attorney's Office recently decided to reduce the charges against Salcido from DUI to reckless driving. As previously discussed, the first reason that the State Attorney's Office decided to reduce the charge against Salcido: his refusal to submit to a breathalyzer or field sobriety test. In this installment, we will discuss the second reason why the State Attorney's Office deciding to reduce Salcido's charge: the arresting officer on the scene, Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Mark Cross, stated that Salcido did not appear to be drunk when he stopped him. State Attorney Richard Ripplinger, who supervises the attorneys trying Salcido's case, stated that having one officer contradict the others was an easy way for Salcido's defense to create reasonable doubt in the mind of a jury. This concern about the lack of available evidence to prove that Salcido was actually intoxicated while he was driving led the State Attorney's Office to abandon the DUI charge. Under Florida law, the crime of reckless driving can carry similar penalties to DUI, but a conviction for reckless driving does not lead to enhanced penalties for subsequent DUI offenses.
The observations of Deputy Cross were contradicted, however, by the testimony of four other officers who stated that Salcido appeared to be under the influence of alcohol following the accident. The other deputies observed Salcido for several hours while Cross observed him for only a few minutes. Nonetheless, the State Attorney's Office appeared concerned that any conflict in the evidence would make it difficult to prove their case. In our next article about Salcido's case, we will discuss the reaction from the victims of Salcido's crash to the State Attorney's decision.
