In this video, a 78-year-old disabled Vietnam veteran was stopped over registration and license issues before deputies escalated the encounter into a DUI investigation. Despite repeatedly denying alcohol use and requesting a breathalyzer, the veteran was handcuffed after refusing field sobriety exercises. The stop quickly became a dispute over probable cause, officer discretion, and Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable seizure. You're not drinking anything. Step out of the vehicle. Do what? Step out of the vehicle. I've asked you already three times. >> Calm down, buddy. Get all them registration stuff there. Step to the back of the vehicle. Let me get this stuff for Okay. I got to get rid of this. Give it to Sir, we're both going to stand in traffic and I'd have either you just step out the vehicle like I asked you twice. Third time's a charm. Okay. Well, step to the back of the vehicle. What What What's the attitude? Because you're not listening. And you're driving without a license. I think my registration's No, it's not valid. I know. How much have you had to drink today? Not very much. You know, how much is not very much? >> 497 Do you know Okay. How'd you catch How'd you catch that thing? You can't even see it. Oh, I can see this one. I was trying to get one that I couldn't see nothing. What's your date of birth, wait? Why is your license suspended? It's been that way for a year almost two years. Okay. So, you can't drive without a license. So, you don't have a license to drive. >> buddy. I got driver's license. Yeah, it's not valid, which means you do not have a driver's license. Huh? You have an FR suspension on your driver's license, which means you do not have a driver's license. It's not valid, which means you can't >> for what? Financial res Financial uh uh responsibilities. So which means you either you didn't pay a ticket or you didn't pay your insurance, whatever it was. And Florida? I don't know where it is. I don't know. We can find out. >> But also also um your tag is expired. I know that. >> Okay. Have you had a citation? Have you had a citation for that before? No. Okay. So how much did you have to drink today? I don't know. Not enough. Not enough? Okay. Well, you're unsteady on your feet getting out of the vehicle and so what not. So are you going to What's what's going to happen at this point is are you going to consent to field sobriety exercises? Absolutely not. You're not going to consent to field sobriety exercises? I really would appreciate it if you did because otherwise I'm going to have to make my dis I'm going to I'm going to have to make my decision I'm 78 years old. >> to have to make my decision off of my observations without going through any exercises. This guy's got another dude. Well, he's he's he's basically talking to somebody like do you have any medical issues where Absolutely. You could not >> Bunches. I'm a I'm a disabled combat veteran from Vietnam. Okay? >> I appreciate your service. Let's start with that. We do appreciate that. I'm not going to do no field sobriety. Okay. I'll do a breathalyzer. Okay. Cuz you're you know, you kind of have a talking like you have a thick tongue slurring your words just tab that. So I'm just going to make sure. Cuz I'm old. Okay. Whose license is this? Mine. Is it valid? Yes. >> You can't have a license in two different states. >> I don't. Where's the other license at? No idea. Do you have any tools? Yeah. See his tag order? I know I know I know I know that. You can't take my buddy. I might actually take your vehicle too, sir. There's no way that's expired. Oh, you know, sir, you put your finger at me while you're talking, but this is my traffic stop, so You want to This is my traffic stop. So? Okay, so I'm in charge of this right now. Why? >> So, you're saying you're not going to You're not going to consent to doing any field sobriety exercises? >> Correct. Okay. I'll do a breathalyzer. Okay, that's fine. So, here's the deal. You're saying you have medical issues that you can't conduct field sobriety exercises. Absolutely. What kind of medical conditions do you have? Well, I got PTSD, which is certain there. So. And that's going to help That's going to help That's going to hurt you from doing exercises. What? How's that going to hurt you from doing exercises? Because of your attitude. Okay, my attitude. >> Yes. Make sure I put that in my report. Yeah. And I am diabetic. Uh-huh. And how's that going to affect your exercises? What do you think? It get dangerous in hell when your sugar goes up or down. I shouldn't be driving then. Probably not. And you don't have a license to drive. Do what, darling? I do have a license. Yeah, of course. I'm Deputy Miller. I'm not being arrogant, but I want to tell you he's 100% disabled veteran. He's been that way since the end of 'Nam. Yeah, he told me he's been on it since '05, which is fine. That's not And it's not funny that he can't do stuff. >> 100%? Not at all. Well, he's being made fun of right now. >> I I don't I I think he's not understanding the way that Deputy's talking to him. We're trying to talk to him if he's had anything to drink. And this not is Don't even drink. We don't drink. And you don't have a license, so you really shouldn't be driving. I do have a license. >> It's not valid. Yes, it is. Your license suspension is 8 24 22. All right, so what I'm going to need to do right now is I'm going to put your hands behind your back. You're under arrest for DUI. You have anything on you you're not supposed to have, like go of that. Can you put it in my Let go of that. You're not taking it with you, so let go of it. You just can't bring it inside the jail. So, I'm going to put it I'll put it in Well, my back pocket, so I don't lose it. The money and all these cards? Yeah. To your wife? Wallet. Wallet to your wife? >> Well, unless I need ID and stuff. Well, I have your one ID that you have in my car. Okay. Stand right there. Don't move. Can you keep an eye on him for a second? Ma'am, this is all his belongings. He's going to be arrested for DUI this time. DUI? What's that mean? It means he's under the influence of alcohol beverage. He is not. He never drinks. He said he did drink. When? Just now when you were talking to him. He's failed our multiple times. Would you like to carry his stuff, ma'am? He couldn't have said that. Okay. I'll have it on body cam. You're more than welcome to request it and you can watch it. Okay. Here you go. Why would he say that? I don't know, ma'am. Here's his Here's his Here's his Here's his bag. >> you ask him? He just told me. Told me he did. What? He She's saying he never drank. You don't drink. You said you did drink. I did not. You said how much I've had to drink today. I said not much. How much did you have to drink today? Not much. I said how much is that? You're unsteady on your feet. You're slurring your words. What did you take today? What the hell? I'm 78 years old. I hear all these I hear all this stuff, but are you are you under the influence? No. So, what did you drink today? I had a couple of Dr. Peppers. I had a water. No alcohol? No alcohol. Not one bit? Not one Give me the damn breathalyzer. Why don't we Why don't we Why don't we go ahead and do field sobriety tests so you don't have to go all the way up to the jail? I'm not going to do that [ __ ] I'm 78 years old. I'm diabetic. I got PTSD. I just had a new hip put in. Have you taken Have you taken Have you taken Have you taken Have you taken Have you taken any medication? Have you taken any medication? I am over talking you. Have you taken any medication? That you're not supposed to know know about? Hey, listen. This is your deal Here's the deal, bud. You're driving without a license. You're going to jail anyway. I ain't driving without a license. Where's your license? You got it. You can't have two licenses. I have a >> I don't have two licenses. >> You have a Florida license. Where's your Florida license? I don't When I got the Michigan one, they took it. They took it. How much have you had to drink today? Did you have I mean I I don't believe you. I don't care. Okay, so you tell me. That's cool. I'm just Just give me a hand for a second. She's saying that she takes medication. That I don't drink. They moved from Michigan back here this way. She has the license in her hand. Can you rerun it? She's saying that, you know, she knows the tags out of date. That's She understands that. But she's like, he didn't Oh my [ __ ] god. >> What do you need What do you need me for? Okay, so did Did you think he was drunk? You think he's drunk or not? The license being suspended and he's being an [ __ ] is pissing me off. >> I think he's being a smart ass. Um, you know, I don't think I didn't I don't know do the exercises. I want He won't do them. Yeah. Will she drive? I'm trying to find out if she's got a valid license. Find out if it's valid. Stop. Okay. Miss Brenda, honey, can I have your license again? They didn't get the number off of it, they said. I'm sorry. I'm trying to find out if you're valid so that you have somebody that can drive home with a valid license. Two licenses. You have a not valid license in Florida. Right? Florida says you can't Just hear me out. Yeah. FR Stand up. I'm going to take I'm going to take those cuffs off of you real quick. Stand up. I'm up. Stand up. Turn around. I'm going to take those cuffs off of you while I talk to you real quick. No, I mean I don't have to. I'm just being nice. Okay. Turn around and face me. Turn around and face me. That way. Just like that. Jesus. Yeah, but that's why I took the I had you turn around. Cuz trying to do it from behind I would have crushed your wrist even more. Okay. So, here's the deal. You have two licenses, right? Not that I'm aware of. I'm telling you. Listen to me. >> Don't raise your voice. >> Don't Don't over talk to me. >> Talk with me like a man. I tried to, but you're not listening. You know. So, here's the deal. So, just how about how about you do one do yourself a favor this time. Okay? >> What? Don't talk when I'm talking. Do yourself a favor. Okay, you have two licenses. One's in Florida. It's not valid. You have a valid one out of Michigan. Florida law says you can't have a license in more than one than more than one state. So, you have one in another state. I can issue you a citation for that. You also have a registration that's out of date. It also has a seized tag order on it, which means I take the tag with me and you don't get it back. And you're going to have to go apply for a new one, which is a couple hundred dollars. It's like three three four hundred dollars. Okay. Do you understand where I'm going? Okay, you're saying you didn't drink. I don't know if you did or didn't. I don't I don't believe that you didn't. Your wife says you did. I did I'm sorry, your wife said you didn't. >> said I did. Your wife said you didn't. She She Here's the deal. Let me explain something to you. Your wife said you didn't. Truthfully, with the with the driving without a license for the Florida license, I still just I can still arrest you. I don't need the DUI. None of that matters. But, I'm going to cut you a break. I'm going to cut you a little bit of a break. I don't have to do this. I don't have to do this at all. Your wife said she'll drive the vehicle. I'm going to let her get in the driver's seat. Cuz now, if she's in the driver's seat and you're in the passenger seat, I can't take the tag. Understand? >> Yeah. So, then you're going to drive home wherever you live and get that taken care of before you get back in our town. >> what all those white papers are. Listen to me. I'm explaining this to you. >> clear. If she's in the driver's seat and you're not, cuz you're the registered owner. If you're the registered owner driving the vehicle, I have to take the tag. >> Yeah. I I have to. Florida law says I have to. But, if she's in the driver's seat, I can't take the tag. So, I'll put her in the driver's seat and she drives you home. You don't come back into this county until you take care of that. We don't even have a site We have no reason to write you a citation. Right? And then I don't waste all of our time taking you up to go see if it's a DUI because guess what? If it's not alcohol and you blow, I'm going to bring somebody else in here and they're going to do what's called a drug recognition and they're going to see if you're under the influence of any kind of any drugs. When they do that, if you're under the influence of any any of that, guess what? You still get a DUI. Do you see where I'm going? I guess. Hm? But the The only thing I'm on is prescriptions. >> Okay. Well, guess what? What? Prescriptions can sometimes influence the way your body's mechanics works and affect your normal faculties. And if it can affect your normal faculties, you cannot be driving. That's the law. Are you going to drive Are you going to drive for him? Yes. Okay. You want to swap seats? And what was your name, ma'am? Brenda. Okay, Brenda. I'll walk with you. Your husband don't like me, so I figured I'd just talk to you instead. When did you start getting in trouble? I understand that you He must have just hit him wrong or That's okay. He's got PTSD. He's over the top. That's his thing. >> You know, >> Well, see the guy behind you talking to him? The old man talking to him? He's got PTSD, too, so they're probably talking about it. >> Okay. Seriously. Mhm. He's That's why he's He's in the He was in the military and stuff, too, so. Oh, was he? Yeah. That's fine. Just like I said, get it taken care of cuz you can't be driving with a Either way, you can't be driving without a non-valid registration. No matter who's driving can get the citation, but if he's driving, I got to take the tag. Like I said, we're going to cut you guys a break today because he's trying to say all this other stuff. I don't know if he's drunk drunk or not, but really, if I go If he's under the influence of any kind of alcohol or drugs, he would go to jail. Okay. Yeah. Okay. So, like I said, the pills and stuff could be it. Okay? Hunter, what's your last name? All right. I explained to your wife. She's in the driver's seat now. You Everything that I took from you, I handed to her. It's all on body cam and Deputy Miller was standing right there prior to me doing anything else. I took your handcuffs off of you. I explained to you everything I just told her so she understands that the reason I'm letting you guys slide. And she also understands that you have a license in another state but she can't have a license in two states. So on Monday morning, what you're going to need to do is call motor vehicles. Get that taken care of. Cuz it's not valid, okay? And it's a while out. Yeah, it's a full year. Yeah. >> And I can't get it back any way. Hold on a second. But the other thing you're going to have to do to get that taken care of is you're going to have to pay whatever's due on your driver's license and the reason it's suspended. And the reason you got a Michigan license, I'm sure, is because you knew you were about to lose your license. Cuz some way It's very s- >> lose my license. You have a suspended license. Your license was suspended 11 days after you got your Michigan license. For financial responsibility. So, you need to call Listen to me, you need to call motor vehicles and get that straightened out, too. I'm going to call them. Yes. Department of Motor Vehicles, called them. >> Well, I just been with them for a couple of days. That's why all them papers are gone. I understand that, but you have a suspended license since 8 24 22. August 24th, 2022. You have a suspended license. Yes. You have a suspended license and that's probably why you can't get that taken care of properly. No. You might have had to take it or something. >> either way you can get me exactly of the title deed. Either way, I I got it financed. Either way, you are free to go in the passenger seat of your vehicle now. But before you drive it again, you got to do the rest of it. I appreciate >> All right. You have a good night, sir. >> You you do, good night. Take care. This encounter shows how a routine traffic stop can escalate into a DUI investigation based on subjective observations rather than confirmed evidence of impairment. The veteran repeatedly denied drinking alcohol, refused voluntary field sobriety exercises, and requested a breathalyzer before being handcuffed for DUI. The stop raises questions about probable cause, reasonable suspicion, and Fourth Amendment protections during police encounters.