This story was in my local paper!!!

[Ms_Dem_Meanor]

Uneffinbelievable!!! He doesn't get arrested for the drinking!!! He gets arrested for domestic violence!!!:grr:


State lawmaker avoids Md. DUI charge
Rep. Atkins arrested later the same night by Millsboro police
By PATRICK JACKSON and GREG BURTON, The News Journal

Posted Thursday, December 21, 2006

State Rep. John Atkins was observed speeding and "drifting" across lanes, officers reported.
Two Ocean City, Md., police officers allowed Delaware state Rep. John Atkins to leave an Oct. 29 traffic stop without arrest or citation despite a preliminary breath test indicating he was driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.14, nearly twice the legal limit in Maryland.

During the traffic stop, Atkins flashed a "laminated card" indicating he is a "Delaware State Representative," according to a police incident report. He later told Officer Natalie Smolko that he could arrange for a Delaware state trooper to pick him up and take him to his Millsboro home. Atkins' wife, Heather, a passenger in the couple's Chevrolet pickup truck, was not allowed to drive Atkins home because she recorded a 0.16 on a preliminary breath test.

Hours later, Atkins was arrested at his home by Millsboro police and charged with offensive touching for "grabbing" his wife's arm during an argument that ended with a 911 call alerting police.

Here is the what really burns me up:

Olympic swimmer arrested

Two years ago, Olympic gold medal swimmer Michael Phelps, who was 19 and under the legal drinking age at the time, was arrested by a Maryland state trooper after a preliminary breath test (PBT) of 0.08, just at the legal limit. A subsequent breathalyzer test recorded the same alcohol content.

In Atkins' case, Neeb said, the officers didn't believe a 0.14 PBT warranted arrest, despite the officers' smelling "a strong odor of alcoholic beverage on his breath," Atkins' "glassy and bloodshot eyes" and the state representative's admission "he had a few beers."

Neeb would not say whether Ocean City was reviewing the officers' conduct. Worcester County Attorney Joel Todd was in court and not immediately available for comment.

Preliminary breath tests administered in the field are not permissible evidence in Maryland courts, but a suspicious PBT is sufficient to arrest and charge a subject with driving under the influence. Once charged, or detained in custody, drunken driving suspects in Maryland are asked to consent to a breathalyzer test, which is admissible in court.

According to a report filed by Officer Douglas Smith, who was training Smolko, Atkins' was seen at 1:22 a.m. driving 52 mph in a 40 mph zone on the Coastal Highway and "drifting left and right crossing the lane markers." Smith said Atkins "did not appear to be highly intoxicated, but I suspected ... he might not be safe to drive."

When confronted by Smith, Atkins "apologized" for driving.

"I then advised Atkins that I first wanted him to take a Preliminary Breath Test to see if he was okay to drive, and then if the results showed he was not sober he could call for a ride," Smith wrote. "I advised him that he would not be arrested."

It's unclear why Smith -- even before administering the PBT -- opted to let Atkins go home, where a subsequent crime occurred. Atkins did not receive a speeding ticket.

Can somebody tell me why this is fair? Atkins gets a slap on the wrist for drinking and Phelps gets arrested, but all Atkins gets is this:

The Millsboro Republican entered a guilty plea Dec. 4 to a domestic violence charge and is on probation for up to a year while he undergoes domestic violence and anger management counseling. If he successfully completes the programs he will be eligible to have his record expunged.

Atkins apparently will not, however, face any consequence for partying with his wife at Seacrets night club and then driving with "multiple empty bottles of beer" through Ocean City several hours before the domestic incident.

Here is the link to read it for yourselves:
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061221/NEWS/612210333

Sorry for the length of this post, but I just couldn't believe it when I saw it.:argh: