Brickbat: By the Book
Susan Mait's SUV had broken down in Coral Springs, Florida, and while she was waiting for a tow a couple of local police officers pulled up. The officers and Mait disagree over what happened next, but it resulted in them arresting her for DUI and felony obstruction. Prosecutors dropped the DUI charge after toxicology tests came back. When Mait's attorney deposed the two officers, he asked if they used obscenities when talking to Mait. They said no. Then he asked if they'd warned Mait that she was disobeying a lawful command when, according to them, she refused to show them her driver's license. They said they did. Well, it turns out that Mait was on the phone with her insurance company when they pulled her from the car, and the company recorded the encounter. It showed one officer did use profanity, and it didn't capture either warning her that she was disobeying a lawful order. But it did catch the two of them hashing out what they would tell internal affairs. After hearing the tape, prosecutors dropped the remaining charge against Mait.
