We can't breathe. >> Hey, I'm going to leave the door open, but don't come out. Okay. >> Why not? >> Cuz you can't come out. >> I need I need to breathe. Please. >> You're breathing. Listen. Did you No, no, no. You can't come out. You're the doors open. Okay. >> You can't come out. >> Let me breathe. >> A woman drifts across her lane near midnight and a deputy stops her for running a stop sign. She has no license, no registration, no insurance. And when the deputy steps closer, he realizes he already knows her name. What follows tests how far a familiar face bends the law. >> Yeah, he blew that stop sign ahead of me. Sergeant, >> how you doing? >> Good. Corp sheriff's office. The reason why I'm stopping you is he came hauling butt out of the yard now. >> Didn't stop and you got a headlight out. You got your license, registration, and proof of insurance with you? >> I don't have any of that, officer. I'm >> okay. >> I'm in. What's going on? >> Uh, I'm going through a survival situation. >> Huh? Well, listen. You're not in trouble right now. Why don't you hop out and come talk to me about what's going on, okay? What's your name? Listen, everything could be fixed, okay? There's nothing that's the end of the world. Just don't do anything to make it worse. Okay? Come out and talk to me, okay? You're not going to come out the car and talk to me or what? >> Yeah, I'd rather not, officer. >> Okay. I'm I'm telling you to come out and just talk to me, okay? And we'll figure out what's going on. >> Walk away from my house. >> Huh? >> A block away from my house. >> Okay. So, let's have that conversation back here on the sidewalk. Okay. What's your name? >> My name is Sarah. I'm from Miami. >> Okay. Sarah. I'm from Miami. Did you go to Southridge? Yeah. >> I know who you are. >> No, you don't. >> Step out and let's talk, Sarah. Okay. I don't want to have to come take you out of the car. Thank you. Your car is in park, right? All right. Come on, Sarah. >> Anything illegal on you or inside the vehicle? Drugs, weapons? No. >> Sarah from Miami. What high school did you go to? >> South Ridge. >> Okay. You remember me? >> What year? >> Graduation 08. >> 08. >> Mhm. >> Stop. >> How old are you? >> I graduated 08, too. >> I know. It's cuz I know who you are, Sarah. We had several classes together. What are you doing over here? >> It's a long story. >> Okay. >> Well, [ __ ] I'm in I'm in a domestic violence situation. Okay. >> Okay. >> I know I should be driving. >> Sarah, what's your date of birth? >> December 4th, 199. >> All right. What was your middle initial, sir? >> Faith. >> Mhm. And was it S A R A or do you have an H? >> S A R A H. So, is this the issue of the license? >> I believe so. Um I I beat a I had a a DUI. >> Okay. >> Okay. And I believe um I beat it for intense police brutality. >> Okay. >> Okay. >> Was that out of Miami? >> Yep. >> Okay. So, you had a DUI, you beat the DUI, but your license is still bad for other reasons. >> I'm working that out. Okay. >> Okay. >> And um >> is that case still active then or? >> I believe so. Like my mom just got here today to help me fix fix all this [ __ ] >> She literally drove I mean she caught a bus >> down here to help me fix all this [ __ ] >> All right. Anything in the car I need to know about Sarah? Drugs, weapons, anything like that? We're with our star unit. Basically that means the unit we're with is we ride along with several deputies that don't answer calls for service. We ride along with K9 units. All right. That pretty much do whatever we need them to do. So that's why I'm asking is there anything illegal on the vehicle I need to know now? Drugs, weapons, anything like that. If I wanted to search your vehicle to make sure you didn't have anything like that, would you let me do that? You would? Okay. I'm going to figure out what's going on with your license. If I had a female come here and just check your person for any weapons, >> that's fine. >> You're okay with that? All right. Come stand in front of my car for me. >> I would like to go get milk. >> Consented for service. Stay on the sidewalk though for me, sir. Up here, please. Look at me, Sarah. Up here, please. On the sidewalk. Okay. >> [snorts] >> Do you have any warrants or anything out of Miami? No. >> No. >> I should be driving. I was I was trying to fix this [ __ ] >> So, you just have an ID card. So, you actually never had a license. You used to drive, >> right? You had a license then in high school. You used to drive, right? >> Yeah. Um I had I had a license. Um the the whole re the reason what whatever whatever y'all are pulling >> ID only. >> ID only. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. So, you just got some domestic stuff going on tonight. Is that what's going on? I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for that. >> Okay. >> I would be home in Miami. >> Okay. >> I wouldn't be there. Yeah. I I beat a DUI case >> for intense police brutality. >> Have you had any alcohol tonight? >> A little bit. >> A little bit. >> I just want to go home. It's just a couple blocks away. >> Mhm. We're just waiting for the female deputy to get over here [cough] and then we'll talk. Okay. Is there any like restraining orders in place or anything? No. And you said your mom just moved here. Just got here today. >> Just got here today. Where are you staying at right now? >> Two blocks away. >> Okay. What's What's your address, sir? >> Just got a job. >> You got rid of your 305 number? >> I'm check prime. >> Oh, yeah. Okay. >> Yeah. So, I'll take you tonight. I'm going to just >> Well, I'll make mistakes. So, right now, we're just still talking. >> Are you a felon? Big felon? >> No. Just one prior DUI or more? >> No prior DUIs. >> You beat the one that >> Yeah. for intense police brutality in Miami. >> I don't know what that means. I applied to places in Miami and Well, after high school, I went in the military for 4 years. >> You remember me? >> Mhm. Very well. >> It's a a good or a bad thing. >> No, it was a good thing. You You're very friendly. We got along. We had uh Miss Lee together. >> Your updated. >> I moved out here because this guy was dating. His parents lived here. She going through hell. He cheated on me. I don't know anybody out here. I have a I have an 11month-old at home. >> Give me one second. Okay. >> This is Sarah. Uh Sarah was obviously that car. She said she's had a couple of drinks. Um there was a container in the vehicle. She has no valid license. >> Was she driving? >> She was driving all over the road. Ran the stop sign. Pulled in here. Says she's just got a lot going on right now. Whatever. I'm gonna let you kind of go from here. Okay. >> Mhm. >> Nothing else in the car. >> I haven't finished. >> Okay. >> My phone >> something. Could be meth residue. Could be fatty. >> Trying to say. >> Hi Sarah. >> Hi. How are you? >> Good. How are you? >> Okay. Um better. >> Okay. So, he was obviously filming in a little bit. Okay. Um Deputy Datson, by the way. Okay. What did you kind of say to him a little bit just so I heard it from you? >> Well, I guess um I'm in a a really serious domestic violence situation. My mom just just got here off the bus from Sarasota from Miami today to help me fix my license. >> Okay. >> I have a situation in Miami, minor unpaid uh traffic violations. >> Okay. on top of um a DUI that I uh took to trial [snorts] for intense police brutality. You're saying that okay. So you said she ran the south side. >> Came out of RNL headlight out. I think it's the left side. >> Okay. >> And then ran the stop sign right here. >> You said she is suspended as well. >> Yes. Uh I think you said two prior. >> Okay. All right. Sarah, I've uh obviously been what what I told. Okay. You were kind of swerving in a lens. Okay. Due the fact that you're driving. Okay. Do you mind performing field sobriety exercises? >> No. I'm going to have to refuse that, officer. >> So, you're not willing to do DUI field sobriety test >> under certain circumst circumstances um due to prior um events that I've witnessed. I'm talking about guns to my face. >> Okay. All right. So, you're refusing to feel so ready. >> Sarah, if you don't do it, that's your choice. But that makes us go off of what we observed, which is running the stop sign and swerving all over the road. Okay. >> Yeah. again. I was uh leaving a domestic violent situation. >> So, you have positive for 31 and then the driving. >> Okay. >> All right. >> Sir, you're going to be under arrest for DUI. Okay. And also paraphernalia that was found inside the car. Okay. >> Do you have anything on you that's going to poke me, stick me, stab me, harm me? I'm sorry. I didn't hear you what you said. >> She said no. >> Okay. All right. We're going to go back to this car back here and I'm going to search you prior to go in my car. Do >> you have anything inside you that I did not find or anything else like that? >> No. >> Because [snorts] if you introduce it to the jail, it's an extra it's a family. >> I love I love how nobody asked me about what's going on with my DUI situation or DUI situation or my domestic violence situation. No, >> double check. >> And the paraphernalia is in the back of my car. Let me grab that. >> I can't breathe. >> Hey, I'm going to leave the door open, but don't come out. Okay. >> Why not? >> Cuz you can't come out. >> I need I need to breathe. Please. >> You're breathing. Listen. Did you No, no, no. You can't come out. You're the the door's open. Okay. [clears throat] >> You can't come out. >> Let me breathe. Please. >> All right. Sit. Sit down. Sit down. You can sit. Don't come out here, Sarah. Sit down. You're breathing. You're breathing. >> Relax. Did you swallow anything inside >> right here? I got the left hand. >> Don't want to pull her legs out. >> I need to breathe. I need to breathe. >> She slipped her cuff now. Now, now she's getting obstruction also. >> Escape. That wasn't too smart, young lady. >> I need to breathe. >> Stop fighting. >> Breathe. >> You understand? >> If you do that again, you're going to get hurt. Okay? We don't want to hurt you. [snorts] Definitely obstruction. You're definitely resisting. [gasps] >> Stop. You better not kick me. >> No. >> [ __ ] you. Don't >> escape >> cuz cuz then you don't fight with deputies either. >> Not too smart, dear. >> Don't do [clears throat] that again. >> All that's done. Ridiculous. >> When the deputy ordered the driver to step out of her car, that command was not a matter of courtesy. Under Pennsylvania versus Mims, an officer may order a driver out of a vehicle during any lawful traffic stop. The rule exists for officer safety and it applies even when the driver has done nothing threatening. Her own words then carried legal weight. Under Florida statute section 322.34, driving on a suspended license is a crime only when the driver knows it is suspended. Each time she admitted she knew she should not be driving, she supplied that missing element herself. Refusing the field sobriety exercises was her right. In Florida, those exercises are voluntary and no one can force them. But refusal does not erase what the deputies already saw. The weaving, the stop sign, the admitted drinking, and the open container gave them probable cause to arrest. That arrest was for driving under the influence under Florida statute section 316.193. The final charge came after the handcuffs. Under Florida statute section 843.02, resisting an officer without violence has a narrow trigger. It applies when a person obstructs an officer who is lawfully doing his job. Slipping a cuff and trying to leave a secured patrol car met that standard. And the force used to receat her is measured by a single rule. Under Graham versus Connor, force is judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene. That judgment uses what the officer faced in the moment, not the calm of hindsight. When a driver tells an officer she is leaving a dangerous situation at home, that story may earn sympathy. But it does not create a legal excuse to drive impaired. A crisis can be documented and referred to an advocate, yet it cannot cancel a charge of driving under the influence. The safer choice is to call someone not to get behind the wheel. Impaired driving endangers everyone else on the road, and a court weighs that risk over the driver's reasons. When a person knows her license is suspended, saying so aloud to an officer hands the state its case. The knowledge element is often the hardest part for prosecutors to prove. An admission on camera removes that burden almost entirely. Once knowledge is admitted, the suspended license charge becomes far easier to sustain in court. When field sobriety exercises are requested, a Florida driver may decline them without committing a crime. But declining is not a shield. If the officer has already seen dangerous driving and heard an admission of drinking, refusal only points toward arrest. The refusal does not stop the arrest. It only limits the evidence to what the officer personally observed. Politeness costs nothing, and a calm refusal is received far better than an argument. When a person is already handcuffed and secured in a patrol car, the arrest is effectively over. The smartest move at that point is stillness. Trying to slip a restraint or step out turns one charge into two. A real medical complaint should be stated clearly and calmly so it is heard and can be checked. Acting out an escape while restrained reads as resistance, even when the real problem is panic or fear. When an officer recognizes a suspect from his own past, both sides should expect the footage to be reviewed. Familiarity cannot soften the law and it should not harden it either. The body camera is the record that keeps the outcome honest. A recorded encounter protects the driver and the deputy alike because it fixes what was said and done. A single night can reshape a life for a year or more. Probation, a suspended license, community service, and a class that revisits every choice made behind the wheel. The law rarely asks whether the timing was fair.