I'm an E. >> She's not doing the field, so we're not going to be uh >> 25 25 >> She was struck bunch of cars. Okay? She struck bunch of cars. We're taking you in. All right. You got a small You got a small wrist. No, we have to. >> No. >> You want to do the field? >> One sentence made this woman famous. Five words said to Chicago police officers on a November night over and over. I'm an elected official. Within 2 weeks, the body cam footage was everywhere. The internet declared [music] her guilty. Newspapers demanded her resignation. Her own political career started collapsing in real time. And then, 18 months later, in a courtroom on the fourth floor of the Daley Center, a judge looked at everything you're about to see and reached a verdict almost nobody predicted. This is the story of Commissioner Samantha Steele. And I need you to watch it all the way through because the ending changes everything. First, understand who we're dealing with. Samantha Steele wasn't a small-town official. She was one of just three commissioners on the Cook County Board of Review, the body that decides property tax appeals for one of the largest counties in America. Millions of residents, >> [music] >> billions of dollars, real power. 45 years old, elected, [music] ambitious, and by November of 2024, already a known name in Chicago politics, which is exactly why what happened on Ashland Avenue couldn't [music] stay quiet. >> I want you to have a seat in the car. >> Okay. >> Let's start off with your driver's license and your proof of insurance, okay? Yeah, I'm here. >> Okay. Do you want to see my driver's license and my proof of insurance? >> Who's this? >> My attorney. >> Your who? Your attorney? >> I'd like >> You can call him in a little bit, cuz right now everything's recording audio and video, okay? But you're involved in a traffic accident. I'd like to see your driver's license and your proof of insurance. >> Ask him. >> Okay, who's that driving here? >> Just Just hang >> Yeah, just hang up, Samantha, and I'll be there. Tell him I'm on my way. >> He said he's on his way. >> Yes. She said He said he'll be on his way. Okay. Let's start off with your driver's license and your >> I'll wait for him. >> I know, ma'am, but I need to see your driver's license to verify you're okay to be driving. And number two, your insurance, so we can start the paperwork. There's some damage done to your car. >> I'll wait for him. >> Ma'am, I told you that everything's being audio and video taped, okay? >> I'm just saying I'm I'll wait for my attorney. >> I'm requesting your driver's license and your proof of insurance. >> Just before 9:00 p.m., calls start coming in from the Ravenswood neighborhood on Chicago's North Side. A crash on the 5000 block of North Ashland Avenue. When officers arrive, they find two vehicles with significant front-end damage. And according to 911 caller, the driver responsible had tried to leave [music] the scene, but her car was too damaged to get away. What officers find next is stranger. The driver isn't in the driver's seat. [music] She's lying on the ground near the sidewalk, and when they help her up and start asking [music] questions, she tells them she was driving southbound on Ashland when she struck another vehicle. So far, an ordinary crash investigation. That lasts about 90 seconds. >> I'm sure you can provide me with those two things while we're waiting for your attorney to show up. >> I'll wait for him. >> Okay, but we don't have to wait for him. I need to see your >> to wait for him. >> [music] >> Okay, ma'am. You don't need to make the situation complicated than it already is. It's just an accident. I just need to see your driver's license >> for him. >> Okay, ma'am. Do you want me to handcuff you and arrest you? >> No. >> Because right now at this point you're refusing to provide me any >> I am. >> You are. You realize that, right? >> Yes. I've already talked to the officer. >> You what? >> I don't want any of this. >> Well, ma'am, you're involved in an accident. You've hit up several cars. >> Two. >> So, yeah, I need to see your driver's license so I can start the paperwork. >> out in front of me and I >> So, okay. Great. I'll ask you that in a second. But, I really need to verify this is your This is your car? >> No, it's my friend's car. >> It's your friend's car. Okay. Do you have a valid driver's license? >> Okay, great. >> And I have insurance. >> How about an ID? >> I do. >> Okay, can I see some of those so I can know who you are? >> attorney. >> Okay. Ma'am, I'm trying to I'm just trying to work with you here. >> But, you're not providing me your driver's license so we can exchange. >> Nope. >> And why are we waiting for your attorney for? >> He's in my friend. >> He's your friend? Okay, but he wasn't here in the car. >> Nope. >> [music] >> Is that him there? >> No. >> Do you want to give him a call? >> He's coming. >> Okay. You want to give him a call so I can talk to him? >> You want to talk to him? >> Yeah, please. >> According to the arrest report, [music] officers noticed her eyes were bloodshot and glassy. They said they detected the odor of alcohol on her breath and described her swaying front [music] to back as she spoke. And then, on the passenger side floorboard of her car, they found something that would define this entire case, an open bottle of red wine, >> [music] >> half empty. Now, remember that bottle because a year and a half from now, her defense is going to say something about it that flips this whole scene on its head. When an officer asked how much she'd had to drink that night, [music] her answer, according to the report, was immediate. I want my lawyer, and I'm not talking to you. What follows is the footage [music] that made this case go viral. Officers ask for her license and registration. [music] She doesn't hand them over. They ask her to step out of the vehicle. She refuses. One officer finally tells her plainly, "If you don't exit the vehicle, I'm going to help you to exit." >> [music] >> And woven through all of it is the sentence that would follow Samantha Steel for the rest of her career. I'm an elected official. Not once. Again and again. Count them as you watch. I'm an elected official. I don't want any of this. Here's what fascinates me about this moment. She's not wrong. She is an elected official, but listen to what the officers hear. A person who appears to believe that job title functions as a shield, and every camera on every uniform is recording exactly how well that works. >> Ma'am, I'll tell you that everything's being audio videotaped, okay? >> I'm just saying I'm an elected official. >> to question your driver's license and your proof of insurance. I'm sure you can provide me with those two things while we're waiting for your attorney to show. >> I'll wait for him. >> Okay, but we don't have to wait for him. I need to see your >> to wait for him. >> Hey, ma'am. You don't need to make this thing more complicated than it already is. It's just an accident. [music] I just need to see your driver's license. >> for him. >> Okay, ma'am. Do you want me to handcuff you and arrest you? >> No. >> Because right now at this point you're refusing to provide me any >> I am. >> You are. You realize that, right? >> Yes. I'm an elected official. >> You what? >> I don't want any of this. >> Well, ma'am, you're involved in the accident. You've hit a several cars. >> Two. >> So, yeah, I need to see your driver's license so I can start the paperwork. >> front of me. I >> So, okay. great. I'll ask you that in a second. But I really need to verify. This is your This is your car? >> No, it's my friend's car. >> It's your friend's car, okay. Do you have a valid driver's license? >> Okay, great. >> And I have insurance. >> How about an ID? >> I do. >> Okay, can I see some of those so I can know who you are? >> Okay. Okay, I'm trying to go I'm just trying to work with you here. >> But you're not providing me your driver's license or your insurance. >> Nope. >> And why are we waiting for your attorney for? >> He's in my friend. >> He's your friend. Okay, but he wasn't here in the car. >> Nope. >> [music] >> Is that him there? >> No. >> Okay, you want to give him a call? >> He's coming. >> Okay. You want to give him a call so I can talk to him? >> You want to talk to him? >> Yeah, please. >> Officer wants to talk to you. >> Okay. >> This is Officer Fernandez with the 20th District. Oops. >> Hey officer. >> Where were you? >> Uh your client here >> Your client here was involved in an accident. >> [music] >> How far are you? Hello. >> Uh like 25 minutes. >> Okay, I need to see her driver's license and her proof of insurance. And she's understanding that she doesn't have to provide that to me until you arrive. Can you advise your client >> That is not true. >> that >> I I would be happy to advise her what the law is. >> Okay, please. Can you advise her so I could get this paperwork started? Wait, thank you. Now, you listen to him. Yeah, I know it's kind of sad. Great. That's great advice. Great, thank you. And you said this is not your car, right? >> No, it's my dad's. >> Do you happen to have Do you happen to know if he has insurance? >> He does. >> Can you go look in the glove compartment for me? >> It's a fancy car. I don't >> Yeah, I understand. I just need to look at see if he's got insurance. >> I don't know how to open the fancy >> You want me to take a look to see if he's got it? Oh, there you go. Great. Yep, that seems to be it. I'll be right back. Stay in your car, okay? >> I'm not going. >> Okay. >> It's Hold on. Wait. Can he go Can Can he give him I need 5 minutes? >> No, we're not giving him any minutes. >> I'm not going to leave. >> She's not doing the field, so we're not going to be uh You know what I'm saying? She's struck a bunch of cars, okay? She's struck a bunch of cars. We're taking you in. Come on, babe, let's go. No, no, we're not. We're going to sit in the >> That's why That's You got Uber, you got taxi, you could have done all of that. >> Okay, have a seat in the car. >> Let's go have a seat in the car. >> Have a seat. Have a seat in the car. >> Let me get out of your side. >> Have a seat, miss. >> I can't. injured. >> All right, you got a small You got a small wrist. No, we have to. >> No. >> You want to do the field? You want to do the field? >> Same. >> We ask you to do it and you say no. Okay, it's time to sit down. >> You're saying I You guys are saying like >> All right, this is tight. >> Oh, I can still do the sobriety test. >> All right, do it. All right, come on. Give me a chance. This way, turn this way. >> I'm fine, Sam. >> Ma'am, we're not mean. You don't You Imagine somebody crash Somebody Somebody And that's exactly what we do. >> I can do it sitting over here. Okay. >> Turn this way, please. All right. >> Sam. >> Sam, so you wearing a lenses. >> Yeah. >> You wear glasses. You have them on right now. >> I have contacts. >> see me without without Can you see me with them? Okay, you good? >> I can kind of see like >> all right, so now how's your head? You have any injuries? Your head is good? >> head. >> You hit your head? When? >> When I hit the car. >> When you hit the car, did you lose >> I don't know what good means. >> So, you want a EMS? You want to call an ambulance? >> Yes. >> You want us to call an ambulance for you? Okay, we're calling an ambulance. >> But I can do the I can do the sobriety >> You can do it? Sure? [music] Okay. >> No. >> So, put your both feet together like this. >> Yes, I would like an ambulance. Put both feet together. I would like an ambulance. >> Can you do it? >> Yes, I can put both feet together. >> Hands together like this? >> Like >> Then she makes a phone call. She tells police she's calling her attorney. The man on the other end, Scott Britain, who is not her attorney. He's another Cook County Commissioner, a fellow politician. Think about what that call represents. In the middle of a police investigation, one elected official phones another for help. But here's the twist. Britain doesn't pull strings. According to reports, his advice was simple. Comply. Do what the officers say. [music] And she finally does. She's asked one last time whether she'll perform field sobriety tests. The walk, the balance, [music] the eye check. Her answer is no. She would later say that refusal was her constitutional right. The officers treat it as the end of the conversation. >> You're under arrest. That's weird, but yes. >> Okay. Just letting you know you're under arrest. So now when we go to the hospital, you're still under arrest. >> Okay. Do you have my phone? Do you know which hospital you're >> We don't know. It's whatever the ambulance decides. >> Okay. We don't know yet. >> All right. >> Get her in the ambulance. >> This way. >> Yeah, I'm on the other side. >> Okay, ma'am. You cannot uh get too close because she's under arrest. She's in custody right now. So you can't >> Steele complained of head injuries from the crash. She'd later say she [music] was disoriented and shaken and had been asking for medical attention. She's taken to a nearby hospital, evaluated, and discharged. And it's there, at the hospital, that officers formally place her under arrest for misdemeanor driving under the influence. As one officer reads her the standard warning to motorist, the arrest report records her asking him a question, [music] a sexually crude remark so inappropriate we're not going to repeat it on this channel. The report wrote it down word for word. The censored footage doesn't [music] show it, but when that report went public, that one line did as much damage to her reputation [music] as everything else combined. >> You got a letter C and E and F. >> No, but uh hold on. You're under arrest. >> You're under arrest. >> She's got a very small wrist, so make sure you cuff her. >> Make sure you cuff her. She has very small wrist. Careful. >> I'm making loose. That alcohol smells strong. You put Why would you It's a half empty. >> Oh my god. >> It's half empty. Bottle of wine is half empty, uh something. >> Empty bottle of wine. >> So >> Oh my god, you guys are >> She drank it. >> I mean, it's illegal to drink and drive. >> It's illegal to have open alcohol in the car. >> You know? Can I go with you? >> Oh, there goes the attorney, saving the day. >> She's going to have to >> He's coming in right now. She has her head All right. You going to go ahead. >> No, I need to see my attorney. >> No, he's right there. >> I'm not moving. >> He's right there. >> Yeah, no, my attorney. >> Sir, she's been uh placed in custody for driving under the influence of alcohol. She struck a bunch of vehicles right there. And that's her open bottle of wine in the car, so >> I didn't drink it. >> Say nothing. Don't say anything. >> Yeah, listen to him. >> Has she been Has she been Mirandized? >> No, no. >> No, yeah. Not Mirandized or nothing. She refused the field, so now we going to take her. She going to She going to go to the ambulance, and then, uh, they're going to go with her. And we still got to do How many cars did she crash into, partner? Two cars. >> Our car is not drivable. >> So, we have to tow it from the scene. All right. Over there, please. Thank you, Sam. We're recording, too. We told you, right? Yeah, we did. >> I'm going to go over there. I'm just going to go with her. >> I don't know if you want to She, uh, listen, our partner, when I, uh, trying to do the field, she alleged that she hit her head. >> Two weeks later, the body cam footage was released, and Chicago's political world detonated. Shawn Morrison, >> [music] >> a county commissioner and chair of the Cook County Republican Party, publicly demanded her resignation, saying the incident raised serious concerns about her conduct and judgment. The Chicago Sun-Times editorial board joined the calls, citing her combative and what they saw as a failure to show remorse. She refused to step down. [music] She kept hearing property tax cases affecting millions of people, and barely a month after the arrest, a Cook County judge handed her a quiet early victory. Almost nobody noticed. Her suspended driving privileges were reinstated because of a technicality in the arresting officer's paperwork. It was the first small sign that this case might not be as airtight as the internet believed. Then came the interview. Sitting across from a Fox 32 anchor, Samantha Steel did not apologize. She denied being drunk that night. And then she went somewhere no one expected. She claimed the body cam video had been edited. She described herself as a victim of deep fakes. [music] Her own city's police cameras, she suggested, were showing you something that didn't happen the way it looked. The reaction was brutal. To most of Chicago, this sounded like a politician calling reality itself a conspiracy. But hold that thought because at trial, the question of what the cameras actually proved turned out to be the entire case. While the court case crawled forward, [music] a judge substitution here, a delayed hearing there, the political clock did not wait. In March of 2026, before she ever got her day in court, >> [music] >> Samantha Steel faced the voters in the Democratic primary. She lost. Her opponent, [music] longtime party operative Liz Nicholson, took her seat. Steel said herself afterward [music] what she believed had beaten her. "It definitely was this case," she said. "It was a viral case." Read that timeline again. >> [music] >> She was punished by the public before any judge ruled on the evidence. Whether you think that's accountability or injustice [music] depends entirely on what you believe happened that night on Ashland Avenue. Which brings us to the trial, May 2026, Courtroom 410, Richard J. [music] Daley Center. A bench trial, no jury, just Judge [music] Donald Suriano weighing everything. The prosecution's case was the footage you've been watching. The crash, the reported odor of alcohol, the glassy eyes, the swaying, the wine bottle, the refusals. The defense told a completely different story about the same night. Steel was injured and disoriented from a crash, they argued, not intoxicated. She refused the tests because the Constitution lets her. And then the detail I told you to remember, her defense said the first two officers on scene testified they didn't smell alcohol on her at all, not until after they found that bottle in the car. And one more thing, her lawyer pointed out, if police truly believed she was drunk, they could have asked a judge for a warrant to draw her blood at the hospital. They never did. No blood test, no breath result, no field sobriety test, just [music] suspicion. On May 5th, 2026, Judge Suriano delivered his ruling, not guilty. In the judge's words, everything the prosecution had shown amounted to nothing more than suspicion of intoxication, and suspicion [music] is not proof. 18 months of headlines, a lost election, a national reputation as the elected official politician, and in the eyes of the law, Samantha [music] Steel was innocent. That verdict is not a technicality, and it's not an opinion. It is the outcome of this case, and it's the reason [music] everything you watched tonight has to be understood as an accusation the court rejected. The day after, Steel said [music] she felt vindicated and turned her fire on the prosecutors, saying they'd had no real evidence and charged her anyway. The State's Attorney's [music] Office pushed back, insisting she was prosecuted like any other citizen, >> [music] >> and that the office remains committed to treating everyone equally under the law. She did admit one regret, the way she spoke to the officers that night. So, here's what I keep turning over. The system arrested a powerful politician without hesitation. No special treatment at the curb, and the same system acquitted her when the evidence came up short. No special punishment in the courtroom, either. But by then, the internet's verdict had already cost her everything a courtroom can't give back. So, tell me honestly, did justice work here, or did it arrive too late to matter? I'll see you in the comments. >> [music] [music]