Johnson Not Charged With DUI, But Still Remains Fired From Team
A drunk driving arrest can affect a person’s life in ways they possibly cannot imagine – whether that person works a job at a school or a bank or whether he or she is a highly-paid athlete. NFL star Tank Johnson, formerly of the Chicago Bears, found that out for himself last month when his team kicked him out after a June 22 arrest on suspicion of speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol.
But, ironically, in a recent development police decided not to file charges in Johnson’s case because a blood test done after the arrest showed that the football player was in fact not legally drunk, according to an Associated Press news report posted in the Chicago Sun Times. His blood alcohol level was .072 and that is obviously under Arizona’s legal limit of .08, the state where he had been arrested.
Johnson was pulled over in the early morning hours of June 22 when police allegedly caught him driving 40 mph in an area where the speed limit was 25 mph. Although his blood alcohol level was below the legal limit of .08, authorities could have still charged him with a lesser misdemeanor drunk driving charge under an Arizona law that provides for such prosecutions based on overall symptoms of intoxication.
But officials said they simply made a decision not to pursue any charges based on the results of the blood test. Johnson has been plagued by legal troubles for many months now. The June 22 arrest came barely a month after he got out of Cook County Jail where he spent two months after a probation violation involving a 2005 gun offense.
Johnson was quoted as saying that he is “still disappointed” over being fired from the Bears team, but adds that he understands the organization’s dilemma over the June 22 incident, which further compounded his legal problems.
Not all of us are superstar athletes. But this incident so clearly illustrates how a DUI can turn someone’s world upside down, even the most powerful and influential among us. Tank got kicked out of his team despite evidence that he was not really driving drunk. It is frightening to imagine what could happen to regular people with routine and work-to-exist jobs in such a situation. A DUI has the potential to ruin our job prospects, careers and personal lives.
That is why our Southern California DUI defense attorneys are committed to protecting your rights. We have former prosecutors and former police investigators on our side who will be working for you, to help you fight your DUI. If you or a family member has been charged with drunk driving, call us for a free consultation.
