OVI Refusal, a Passenger Warrant, and a Blocked Emergency Lane
At 2:10 a.m. on I-71 near mile 105, a trooper clocks a sedan at 78 mph in a 65 zone. The car drifts over the right fog line twice and slows abruptly. The driver, a 34-year-old man, has bloodshot, glassy eyes and an odor of alcoholic beverage. He admits to 'two beers about an hour ago.' The trooper observes six clues on the horizontal gaze nystagmus test (both eyes), four clues on the walk-and-turn, and three on the one-leg stand. The driver refuses the portable breath test at the scene and, after arrest and the implied-consent advisement, refuses the evidentiary breath test. The passenger is a 22-year-old woman with no valid license; dispatch reports she has an active bench warrant for failure to appear on a theft charge. The driver's car is legally parked on the shoulder after the stop, but it blocks a narrow emergency lane.
1. Was there probable cause to arrest for OVI, and how should the refusal be handled?
Read the worked answer
Yes. The trooper had specific, articulable facts: speeding, two fog-line drifts, abrupt slowing, bloodshot and glassy eyes, an odor of alcohol, an admission to drinking, and divided-attention clues - six HGN clues, four walk-and-turn, and three one-leg-stand. Together they establish probable cause for OVI. The refusal is not a failure of proof; under Ohio implied consent, a refusal after a proper advisement can support an administrative license suspension and can be used as evidence of consciousness of guilt. The trooper should document the verbatim advisement, the time, the refusal, and any questions the driver asked. The trooper should not order a forced breath test; a blood draw would require a warrant or a recognized exception, and no serious injury or exigency appears here. The report should include the SFST clues and the refusal.
2. What should the trooper do with the passenger and the vehicle?
Read the worked answer
The passenger's warrant should be confirmed through dispatch and, if valid, she should be arrested on the warrant and searched incident to arrest according to policy. The vehicle cannot be left blocking a narrow emergency lane; with no licensed driver available, the trooper should tow it under department policy and complete a detailed inventory, including valuables and damage. Before towing, the trooper should ask whether the driver wants to arrange a licensed driver or lawful release, but that option may be unavailable at 2 a.m. and cannot leave the car in a hazardous position. The inventory protects the driver and the department. The trooper should separate the OVI arrest, the passenger's warrant arrest, and the tow paperwork so each is independently documented.
3. What report elements and supervisory notifications are required?
Read the worked answer
The trooper should complete an incident/arrest report, the OVI report, the implied-consent and ALS paperwork, the tow sheet, and an inventory. The report should include the initial violation, the stop, the observations, the SFST scores, the arrest, the advisement, the refusal, the passenger's warrant confirmation, and the tow. Body-camera and in-car video should be preserved. The supervisor should be notified of the OVI refusal and the warrant arrest under post policy; no pursuit occurred, so pursuit review is not triggered. The trooper should also check whether the driver has prior OVI convictions, because the degree of the offense and the ALS consequences can change. All times should match the dispatch log.