Question:  I got a flat tire in Dunwoody over the weekend and when a Dunwoody cop stopped to help me he asked if I'd been drinking and I said just a couple of beers. Then he made me do those field sobriety tests and finally take a breath test. Then he arrested me for DUI. Then he took me to jail.

I want to know if the Dunwoody policeman can arrest me even if he didn't see me drinking or driving. If he didn't see me drinking or driving, then I don't think he should arrest me.

I spent the night at an Atlanta Braves game, and then I went to a couple of strip clubs in Atlanta. I drove my friends back to their hotel and when I was driving home I got a flat tire. I think it got a nail in it. When I was changing the tire the cop showed up and asked if I needed any help. I think he could smell the alcohol on my breath. I had maybe four large beers at the game and a couple of shots at the strip club.

Please tell me if I can be arrested for DUI in Dunwoody by a cop who never saw me drink or drive? Now I need a Dunwoody DUI lawyer.

W.M. in Dunwoody, GA

Answer:  You can certainly be arrested by a police officer who never saw you drink or drive. For most DUI arrests, in fact, the cop never actually sees an individual drink. That would be a rare situation that a cop actually personally observes someone drinking or doing drugs.

And it is not uncommon for a law enforcement officer to arrest someone for DUI even though he never observed them driving. Sometimes a car will be stopped due to a flat tire or the car will be parked and the officer may observe “suspicious” activity in or near the automobile. If a vehicle is parked, the officer must prove that the person charged with drunk driving had actually been driving the car.

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