Battle brews over sheriff's DUI videos

TAMPA - Last year Hillsborough County arrested nearly 6,000 drunk driving suspects. The breath testing machines have been repeatedly challenged, and some cases have been thrown out.

Consultant Stephen Daniels says he's investigating the machines, and makes a living testifying as an expert witness for DUI defendants.

"I don't want somebody to have to go through and take a charge of DUI when it is a wrongful arrest or the machine is inaccurate," Daniels said.

Daniels says he's bought hundreds of hours of breath-testing videos, searching for inconsistencies, but he says he never expected to find what appears to be excessive force by deputies, like a woman who can be seen being dragged across the floor.

Jail Colonel Jim Previtera says the woman was faking passing out, and that the deputy did the right thing.

"She pled no contest to the DUI," Previtera said. "We've never received a formal complaint from her, we've never had an allegation of any excessive force, and now all of a sudden we have attorneys coming back to us with those videos," Previtera said.

The woman's lawyer says there could be different interpretations of what happened.

"There are two sides to that story. If I'm a law enforcement officer, that's what I'm going to say. I think that six people who may sit in judgment of that tape may have a different opinion," Hayslett said.

Lawyers representing the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office say a jury will also see the woman walking under her own power, still arguing with deputies, after the dragging.

In a second video, another suspect is refusing, deputies say, to hold his head up for the breath test. Finally, the deputy holds his head up for him, a move described as choking by Stephen Daniels.

State's attorney Mike Perotti says looking through the videos for improprieties is just a new kind of ambulance chasing.

"It's an Easter egg hunt at that point, give me a month of video footage and let me see if I can find a pot of gold in it," Perotti said.

Daniels says he's sought out the suspects in the videos.

"I tell them I'm not asking for any money. I have information that could be beneficial to you, I show it to them, and then I advise hey there's two or three attorneys you might want to talk to," Daniels said.

The Sheriff's lawyers have a pledge to their deputies, says attorney Thea Clark: "To defend them (deputies) as they deserve, and not allow them to be embarrassed in the media for doing their job."