I work at a tobacco shop. And after they said I blown through a stop sign. When asked when drinking I said no. Then he said I smelled, and I quote, “of something suspicious”. I get cops get their paycheck for tickets and such but seriously has it really gotten this bad that for a ticket they try to make it something bigger? and ignoring my rights?
So short answer yes they can do that, for a few reasons, maybe the prosecutor will drop the charges, depending on how the stop went and if anything else happened which resulted in additional charges that end up sticking. Preface, I am not a lawyer.
A, any kind of traffic infraction (real or hallucinated by the cops) technically gives them the legal right to stop you. The initial stop will likely be upheld if it goes to court.
B, they use that as a pretext to then investigate other possible things. Drunk/impaired driving not surprisingly is a big one. Roadside breath tests are not admissible in court, station tests are.
C, if you blow 0’s they rapidly pivot to “What other substances have you had which are impairing your ability to operate a motor vehicle”. Technically speaking they can do that, if they think they have reasonable suspicion you are driving while impaired.
D, here’s where it gets shitty. You can still be convicted of DWI even if all tests come back negative. Prosecutors can argue you were impaired by a substance that doesn’t come up on standard tests. If they think they have enough video or documented evidence of you acting impaired they can still push for that.
E, GET A LAWYER. They can argue and eliminate a lot of points of data which the prosecutor can claim are evidence of impairment. Red watery eyes? They were tired. Slurred speech? How does the officer know those are not your normal speaking patterns? An important thing to note here, field sobriety tests tend to favor the police, NOT you. And they are not a legal requirement. Fyi.
F, if a more comprehensive drug test will show you were not intoxicated in any way you can pay out of pocket and submit that to court, but now you’re getting into the area of "how much money will it cost to not take a lesser charge.
G, speaking of, the weaker the case the more likely the prosecutor will plead you down to a lesser charge just to make it go away while still giving them a technical win. It’s bullshit and they use the threat of cost to prove innocence against you, because fuck poor people.