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PennLive reported that a Centre County police officer admitted to falsifying several police reports by saying that he saw proof of impairment when he did not.
While applying for a position with the Pennsylvania State Police, Spring Township police officer Stephen Kutches admitted that he saw “distinct + sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation” in cases where he did not observe that sign of impairment.
The horizontal gaze nystagmus test is used by law enforcement to determine if a driver is impaired and can lawfully be arrested and brought in for chemical testing. Although studies have raised questions about how reliable the nystagmus test is, the test is still accepted by NHTSA as an appropriate test of impairment.
The Centre County District Attorney has announced that its office is reviewing the officer’s cases and that the state attorney general is involved in investigating the Kutches matter.
The Bickerton Law Blog’s Perspective from a DUI Lawyer: “Field sobriety tests are what police officers use to show that an arrest and the warrant for chemical testing are supported by probable cause. If the officer gave false information about the HGN test, that creates a serious question about whether the DUI arrests and chemical tests were constitutional. And that’s something that can be raised in a post-conviction relief act petition. At minimum, anyone who was convicted after being on the wrong side of those false statements should have their lawyer take another look their case. The possible problem would be that DUI cases usually involve short sentences and for something like this, you have to be serving a sentence to be eligible for PCRA relief.”—Lea Bickerton
Key Takeaways:
- A Centre County police officer admitted to putting false information about field sobriety tests in his report
- If that false information was used to justify arrests and chemical tests, that raises constitutional questions about those DUI convictions
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