In the past three articles, we have discussed the case of Florida Fish and Wildlife Deputy David Salcido, who was involved in a crash on December 18th of last year, which resulted in injuries to two pedestrians. The Pinellas County State Attorney's Office recently decided to reduce charges against Salcido from DUI to reckless driving due to a lack of evidence that Salcido was intoxicated while he was operating his motor vehicle at the time of the accident.
The State Attorney's decision has been met with strong criticism from Ned Tenney, the driver of the Toyota Corrola that Salcido struck, who believes that Salcido should be held accountable for his actions. Tirella stated that the mere fact that one officer thought that Salcido was not driving under the influence should not be enough for the State Attorney's Office to drop DUI charges. He noted that the Florida Highway Patrol Trooper who examined Salcido and thought he was not drunk was with him only for a few minutes, whereas the other deputies who responded to the scene were with him for hours and wrote detailed reports stating that Salcido was intoxicated. "This makes no sense whatsoever," Tirella said. "Why did they spend all night out there? Do their reports mean nothing?" TIrella's frustration is typical for victims caught up in alleged DUI cases.
Tenney stated that he was driving his partner home from work when he was struck from behind by Salcido's car. Tenney described the collision as similar to the feeling of a bomb going off. Salcido, who was wearing his Fish and Wildlife uniform at the time of the accident, told Tenney that there had been a shooting and he had to leave the scene of the accident. Salcido then left the scene, but returned a few minutes later, looking discheveled with his fly down. Deputies who responded to the scene after the crash described Salcido as appearing under the influence of alcohol. Since the State Attorney's Office decided to drop charges against Salcido Tenney has demanded some kind of explanation stating, "We just want an explanation of why this guy is getting a break." State Attorney Ripplinger responded by noting that charges like DUI are routinely reduced to reckless driving in cases his office finds difficult to prove.
