Police Officer from Coconut Creek Arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI)

Driving under the influence, or DUI, is one of the most common charges for which traffic patrol officers place drivers under arrest. A law enforcement officer may be tipped off to a driver’s possible DUI in several ways. First, concerned motorists may dial 911 or call the police non-emergency line, says Fort Lauderdale criminal defense lawyer William Moore Criminal Defense. The police officer may also personally observe driving behavior he or she believes is suspicious, such as swerving, failure to maintain a single lane, low rate of speed, driving with headlights turned off after dark, and other indicators. The law enforcement officer might also become suspicious of DUI after conducting a traffic stop for another reason, however, such as speeding because the registered owner of the vehicle is wanted for a different crime.

Broward DUI Lawyer William Moore says that the worst circumstances under which law enforcement authorities might begin investigating a possible DUI is after an accident. In particular, single-car accidents, in which there are no mitigating factors, tend to be evaluated as potential evidence of intoxication.

That situation is precisely what happened to a local police officer when he was out of town recently, says Broward DUI attorney William Moore. Sergeant Curtis Cuddeback is a 50-year-old member of the Coconut Creek police department. He went out of town to Roscommon County, Michigan approximately two weeks ago. While out of the state, he was involved in a single-car accident, in which the Ford Explorer he was driving rolled over at least once. Police reporting to the scene apparently found him climbing out of the vehicle. He reportedly kept repeating himself and telling officers that he was a police officer. Nonetheless, they found open containers of alcohol in the vehicle. Further, Sergeant Cuddeback’s blood alcohol content – determined after a blood draw he forced officers to obtain a search warrant to get – was found to be approximately twice the level at which a driver is presumed to be impaired.

Recently, Sergeant Cuddeback entered a guilty plea. He originally pleaded not guilty to the DUI charge, but recently accepted a plea that will put him on probation until his formal sentencing in March. The terms of the DUI plea deal are unclear.