NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — New data from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is raising questions about how DUI arrests are handled across the state after hundreds of drivers arrested for driving under the influence later tested with no alcohol or drugs in their systems.
The information, recently sent to the Speaker of the House and the lieutenant governor, shows that out of nearly 17,000 blood samples submitted statewide in 2024, 419 cases — about 2.5% — came back with zero alcohol or other intoxicants detected.
One of those cases involves Stephanie Fair, who was arrested by a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper in Nashville last June.
Body camera video shows Fair was pulled over for failing to move over for an emergency vehicle. During the traffic stop, the trooper questioned Fair about alcohol use and told her he smelled the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from inside her vehicle.
Fair repeatedly told the trooper she does not drink alcohol. Despite those statements, she was asked to perform field sobriety tests and was ultimately arrested for DUI.
“Place your hands behind your back,” the trooper said during the arrest.
“Why?” Fair asked.
“Because you’re being placed under arrest for DUI.”
Fair again told the trooper she does not drink.
She was taken to jail and later consented to a blood draw for chemical testing. Months later, the results came back showing zero alcohol in her system.
Criminal defense attorney Ben Raybin, who represents Fair, says her case is far from unique.
“We’ve realized that this is not just an isolated phenomenon with one or two here and there, but we’re actually seeing hundreds throughout the state,” Raybin said.
Raybin says by the time toxicology results are returned, the consequences of an arrest can already be severe.
“She had to go to jail. Her arrest information was posted all over the internet,” Raybin said. “She had to wait months and months for it to go through the court system, and then finally, the blood test came out confirming that she was sober, which is what she had told the officer from the beginning.”
Raybin says cases like Fair’s highlight the need for changes in how DUI investigations are conducted in the field, particularly when officers rely on subjective observations before chemical testing is available.
He also believes lawmakers should consider accountability — and compensation — for people who are wrongly arrested.
“If you get arrested and your blood comes back to zero, you can just get compensated a certain amount of money without having to go through the time and expense of a lawsuit,” Raybin said.
Raybin is representing Fair in a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper involved in her arrest.
In a message to state lawmakers, the TBI noted that blood tests cannot always detect substances that may impair a person’s ability to drive, depending on the substance and timing of the test.
While law enforcement officers often use breathalyzers at the roadside to measure alcohol levels, the TBI said its crime lab only analyzes blood samples submitted for testing.
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