There will be a DUI checkpoint this Friday night, lasting until the early hours of Saturday morning, in the area of 21st Avenue South & Blakemore Avenue. It will be staffed by the MNPD’s DUI Unit, extra-duty officers from the Tennessee Highway Safety Office, and VUPD. Last year, MNPD responded to over 800 crashes involving alcohol, 42 of them fatal.
Officers are always on the lookout for impaired drivers, like the one that Officer Dugre arrested early Sunday morning, just before 4 AM. He was driving on Ellington Parkway when he noticed a vehicle merge onto the road behind him from an on-ramp. He watched via his rear-view mirror as the vehicle ‘weaved significantly’ in the far right lane as it was driving behind him. He stopped at the off-ramp to East Trinity Lane and let the vehicle pass him and take the exit. As it exited, the vehicle continued to weave and cross the lines on the road.
Upon making contact with the driver, the officer reported signs of impairment, including an odor of alcohol coming from the driver, 32-year-old Kacie Swope. Her movements were reportedly sluggish, and her dexterity poor. She admitted to Officer Dugre that she had been drinking, and also taking prescription medication. He reports she was unsteady on her feet, and her speech thick and slurred. SFSTs were performed, and she exhibited indicators of impairment on those tests, along with difficulty following directions.
Kacie R. Swope was placed under arrest for DUI, and additionally charged with an implied consent violation, as she refused a blood test to measure the level of her intoxication. Swope is currently free on pre-trial release.
UPDATE: Swope appeared in court on 02/19/19 and accepted a plea to lessen the DUI to reckless driving, and the Implied Consent charge was not prosecuted. She will serve a six month suspended sentence on probation.
In 2017, 57% (42 of 73) of fatal crashes in Davidson County involved impairment.
