Editor’s note: In keeping with Warwicpost.com’s policy regarding police reports, the driver’s name has been removed from this article following the dismissal of charges. The report remains as a record of police activity and matter of public record and interest.
WARWICK, RI — Warwick Police arrested a Seekonk, MA driver stopped by East Greenwich Police in Warwick July 25 at 2:29 a.m. after a Warwick officer responded to assist the neighboring department in encouraging the woman to stop her 2018 Chrysler Pacifica.
By the time Warwick Officer Christopher Cote caught up with the East Greenwich officers and the Chrysler, the driver had pulled over, according to the officer’s report.
Several East Greenwich officers were at the scene of the stop on Rte. 95 north when Cote arrived, according to his report. Among them was Officer Eric Archambault, who said that they had responded to a driver’s cell phone report that the Pacifica was operating erratically. Archambault said when he found the Chrysler, it was driving 15-20 mph, and that when he tried to pull it over, the driver failed to stop immediately, eventually pulling the Pacifica over at Exit 8. Archambault asked the driver to step out of the minivan.
Cote spoke with the driver, who said that she was returning home from Charlestown. As they spoke, Cote reported he could smell an odor of alcohol on her breath, and that her eyes were bloodshot, her face flushed and her words slurred, according to the officer’s report. He also reported seeing fresh damage to the driver’s side of her minivan. When he asked what had caused the damage, the woman said she hadn’t noticed it.
Cote invited her to a series of sobriety tests, during which she exhibited a lack of smooth pursuit in her vision and involuntary eye movement, and was unable to safely walk a straight line during a walk and turn test. She also had to put her foot down several times during a one-leg-stand test.
Cote arrested the driver on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, and transported her to Warwick Police Headquarters, 99 Veterans Memorial Drive, where she refused to submit to a breath test of her blood alcohol.
Cote charged her with DUI, first offense, blood alcohol content unknown, and cited her for refusing the breath test. She was released to the custody of a sober adult. She was scheduled for a pre-trial conference on the charge at the RI Traffic Tribunal on Aug. 21.
Author: Rob Borkowski
Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at [email protected] with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.
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