A 19-year-old college football player charged with DUI, but we now know he was sober when he was arrested. >> This is the case of 19-year-old college football player Mlan Fineran from Shorter University. On October 2nd, he hits a parked car in an empty lot and doing the responsible thing, he calls the police on himself. And somehow that was his biggest mistake. Last month, the Channel 2 Action News investigators reported on concerns about the accuracy of field sobriety tests for drugs. Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray is live tonight at GBI headquarters. Justin, this family wants others to hear their story. and Linda. And until toxicology results come back here from the GBI, those police departments rely on how police officers interpret those field sobriety tests. That can take months to get those results back. I have ma Mlan Feneran's results right here. They are clean. No sign of any illegal or even prescription drugs in his system. >> When officers arrive, they give him a breathalyzer test. Zero, clean, nothing. which in a normal world would mean, "Okay, sir, here's your report. Have a nice day." But this is the world of field sobriety tests where reality goes to die. >> When was the last time you smoked marijuana? >> I don't smoke it. You've definitely done something. I drink energy drinks. >> Well, you're not acting like somebody that's on an energy drink cuz I'm nervous. I've never been in this position before. It was 19-year-old Mlan Feneran who called police out to this empty parking lot at Shorter University in Rome. >> He said he's leaving. >> Fenan hit a parked car after studying for a midterm and wanted to make an accident report. >> I did what I was taught. >> Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. >> But police started testing for alcohol and drugs. >> Yep. That's what I thought. >> A zero on the breathalyzer, but the kicker for the shorter football team was charged with DUI. Spent the night in jail. based off the the accident that you had and and the field soiety test that we've did, I've got enough probable cause to believe that you're under the influence of something other than alcohol. So, the officers decide the breath test isn't enough. They give him the roadside circus tests. Walk the line, stand on one leg, follow the magic pin. Never mind, he's a college athlete. Apparently, he didn't perform to their satisfaction. Here's the part the police don't like to talk about. A study cited in the report found officers misidentified 49% of sober people as impaired using these tests, meaning FSTs fail almost half the time. So what do the officers do? They arrest him for DUI anyway, claiming he was under the influence of something other than alcohol. And guess what happened next? Independent toxicology tests come back completely clean. No alcohol, no illegal drugs, no prescription meds, just nothing. >> I don't drink. Never have. Haven't done drugs. Never have. It's just not what I do. And he said, "Well, I have the suspicion that you have." A GBI blood and urine test later proved there were no drugs in Fineran's system. >> But close your eyes till Jabber. >> He was arrested based on his performance on this field sobriety test. >> You thought you did pretty well? >> I thought I did. MLAN's parents wonder about the reliability of a test a sober college athlete can't pass. >> If we're seeing that this, you know, people getting arrested when they're sober and they're not under the influence, there's a problem. >> And a Journal of American Medicine study on marijuana and field sobriety tests, officers classified 49% of the sober group impaired. Joshua A used to train other police officers on field sobriety testing. >> Basically, the officers could have administered all these tests or flipped a quarter. The DUI charge against Mlean Fineran has now been dropped. >> Eventually, the DUI charge was dropped because you can't prosecute someone for being sober, but the damage that stays. The athlete said he's terrified this will follow him for life. And he's right. Google doesn't forget. Schools don't forget. Employers don't forget. >> Oh, it was stressful. You know, it's traumatizing cuz I I mean, I've I wouldn't wish it on anybody. It's wrecked his life. He'll be explaining this for the rest of his life. Um the DUI charge when job interviews etc. It never goes away. >> And the arresting officer in this case has been disciplined but not for that arrest. Instead for quote deficiencies and report documentation the Rome police standing by this arrest tonight telling Channel 2 Action News in a statement quote in this case the responding officer had sufficient probable cause to make the initial arrest. A prosecutor's later decision to dismiss charges does not mean the arrest itself was improper. It reflects their assessment of the case at a different stage in the digital process. That probable cause based again on that field sobriety test that showed that that sober college athlete was impaired. >> This case exposes a much bigger problem. Field sobriety tests are outdated, subjective, unreliable, and far too often used to justify arrests that science can't. You can do everything right, be 100% sober, and still be arrested. Officers are trained that if someone fails, which half of sober people do, that's probable cause for DUI. And once the cuffs go on, your life, reputation, and opportunities are already taking damage, even when you're clean. If you've ever dealt with a bogus DUI or bad arrest, drop it in the comments. 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