Debunk A Libertarian Community

Angered and bloody after being chased for speeding on Christmas Eve, an off-duty North Charleston police officer questioned why her pursuers hadn't simply given a fellow officer a free pass.

Officer Christine Phinney told a Dorchester County sheriff's deputy that if she stopped another police officer for speeding, she would let them go and say "take it easy, see you later and have a good night."

"You know, I pull people over for driving 100 mph -- you know what they say? 'I'm a narcotics officer in an unmarked vehicle.' 'Great, well slow it down, have a good night,' " Phinney explained. "As long as they show me a badge, I don't care."

That proclamation was captured by a Summerville police cruiser's video camera after Phinney led officers on a pursuit through town and tussled with a deputy, bloodying her lip in the process. On the tape, Phinney can be heard cursing the deputy and warning that he would "have a much bigger problem" when her husband, Dorchester County Sheriff's Lt. Tony Phinney, arrived on the scene.

"I'm Lt. Phinney's wife," she shouts on the tape. "He's gonna love it when you get sued for a (expletive) fat lip."

Christine Phinney, 41, was ticketed for reckless driving and disorderly conduct after the episode, but was allowed to go home rather than spend the night in jail. Sheriff's officials have insisted the incident was handled by the book and that Tony Phinney's position in the department had no bearing on the case.

The tape, however, raises new questions about the episode. Deputy Mike Files' report mentions that Phinney had "glassy" eyes and he asks at one point on the tape how much she had to drink that night. She didn't respond, and deputies never gave her a Breathalyzer to measure her blood alcohol level. Files is also heard on the tape telling Phinney she is under arrest for resisting arrest. That charge never materialized, however.

Sheriff's Maj. John Garrison, who wasn't there that night, said final charges are at an officer's discretion, and deputies may have later decided that a resisting count wasn't warranted. As for her possible drinking, deputies need probable cause to file a charge before conducting a Breathalyzer test, and Phinney did not show signs of impairment, he said.

North Charleston police have placed Phinney on administrative office duty while they review the episode. Police Chief Jon Zumalt said he is withholding action until all the facts are in and the case is resolved in Dorchester County. She is scheduled to appear in court on the charges Jan. 25.

Tony Phinney has said he and his wife cannot comment on the pending case.

The Dec. 24 incident began when a Summerville police officer spotted Phinney driving a BMW 65 mph in a 40 mph zone on Central Avenue, according to a police report. She allegedly passed cars by driving into the median while police tried to get her to pull over, police said. She later argued with and cursed at a sheriff's deputy who had to wrestle her to the ground to place her in handcuffs on Hawthorne Avenue, police reports stated.

The incident was captured on video cameras in the Summerville cruiser and the deputy's car. Summerville police released their tape this week in response to a request from The Post and Courier. The Dorchester County Sheriff's Office, however, will not release its tape until Phinney goes to court, Garrison said.

"It's evidence in a court case," he said, adding that its early release could prejudice the case.

The Summerville video documents the brief pursuit, which was taken over by Files in accordance with Summerville's chase policy. The video contains no images of the altercation because Files' car blocks the camera's view on Hawthorne Avenue. The tape, however, contains audio of the tussle and the exchange between the deputy and Phinney.

Phinney insisted she did nothing wrong and didn't realize officers were after her car. As she pressed her case, Files told her she could argue the matter in court.

"Yeah? See this fat lip, that's going to be argued in court," she said. "When my husband gets here, you are going to have a much bigger problem."

When Files told her she was being charged with resisting arrest, she loudly questioned the decision. "For what? I didn't do anything to be under arrest?" she yelled.

"Ma'am, I'm not going to argue with you," Files responded.

"I'm a police officer!" Phinney screamed. "I know the law."

Richard Liebson and Shawn Cohen
rliebson@lohud.com

Public safety officials and those fighting drunken driving said Tuesday that any officer who gives cops who drive drunk a free pass should be disciplined and that anyone found driving while intoxicated should be held accountable.

"There should be no tolerance for individuals in our profession who allow others to violate the laws that are there for everyone," said Tuckahoe Police Chief John Costanzo, president of the Westchester County Association of Chiefs of Police.

Reacting to a Journal News report in which 10 local police officers admitted anonymously that cops often give other cops a break when they are found driving drunk, Costanzo and others said no slack should be granted in DWI cases.

Carol Sears, president of the Westchester chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, called the report "very disturbing."

"These are the people who are supposed to be protecting all of us," she said. "We put our trust in them to keep drunk drivers off the road, and it turns out that when they're the drunk drivers, they're being protected by other police officers."

The issue comes in the wake of the arrests of White Plains Officer Joe Zepeda, Westchester Officer Joseph Kraus, Dobbs Ferry Officer Michael Huffman and county Correction Officer Patricia Yancy-Johnson on misdemeanor DWI charges following accidents within a three-week period. All four, who were off duty, refused to submit to chemical tests to determine blood-alcohol levels. All have pleaded not guilty. They also are under internal investigation and face departmental discipline.

Vito Pinto, chairman of the Westchester Board of Legislators' Public Safety Committee, said the arrests "prove that drunk driving is something that goes across all cultural and economic lines."

"I believe strongly that police officers are not different than anybody else," he said. "This is a crime that affects everybody.

"Our police officers take the lead in protecting the public from DWI," Pinto said. "I'm somewhat surprised and disappointed that some say they would cover up for fellow officers. Our police officers have enjoyed the confidence of the public over the years, and in order to keep that confidence, we need to meet this issue head on."

He said the county would work with the chiefs association.

"This is something that must and will be addressed in training, not only at the police academy but in all of our local departments," Pinto said.

Costanzo said that while he doesn't believe cops covering for cops in DWI cases is a common practice, "I'm not that naive to think that it doesn't happen at all. Certainly all of us that want to make the police profession the best it can be want to earn the public trust. When members of our respective departments either say or do things that indicate there are two sets of rules, it's detrimental to all of us."

Sears said that, according to MADD, the average person stopped on suspicion of DWI for the first time has driven drunk 87 times without being stopped.

"Many of these people have alcohol problems, and getting stopped can be the first step in making them realize that they have a problem," she said. "If it happens to be a police officer with the problem, they're not being helped by having their fellow officers cover up for them."

If convicted of DWI, Sears said, officers "should lose their licenses for a substantial amount of time and be required to have the ignition interlock installed in their car."

"As police officers, they should be held to as high a standard as anyone else, if not higher," she said.

Sears said any officer who covers up for another officer should be brought up on charges.

"I'd like to see some agency or entity investigate this whole 'blue wall of silence' thing," she said.

"If a cop's caught driving drunk, they should be brought up on charges, and they should also lose their badge," said Michael Bastardi Jr., whose father and brother were among eight people killed in July when drunken driver Diane Schuler crashed while traveling the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway.

"If a police officer gives another police officer a pass and lets them continue to drive drunk, they should be suspended from the force. That's just ludicrous ," he said. "Nobody should be exempt from drunken-driving laws."