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State v. Whytsell6/18/2003
I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND
A. Trial
Officer Michael McElrath of the Chattanooga Airport Police testified that he was on duty during the early morning hours of January 14, 2000. He stated that around 3:00 a.m., he was driving down Brainerd Road towards the City of Chattanooga when he noticed a vehicle which appeared to be a Mustang pull out of the parking lot of a nightclub called Flashbacks. McElrath testified that the car was traveling in the opposite direction that he was driving and was "fishtailing." He stated that the car "lost control, fishtailed, looked like he'd overcorrected, came back across and then towards [McElrath] in [McElrath's] fast lane of traffic." McElrath stated that he moved over into the slow lane of traffic so that the driver would have room to regain control of the vehicle. He testified that as he got closer to the vehicle, the driver was "still trying to maintain control, trying to get control." McElrath stated that as the vehicle "came over to the slow lane," McElrath "got up onto the side area of the bridge, curb area to try to avoid . . . being . . . struck head on by this car." He noted that the vehicle came within five feet of striking his patrol car.
McElrath testified that the vehicle passed him, so he turned around to follow the vehicle. He stated that he followed the car, a red Ford Mustang, but did not turn on his blue lights because he "wanted to see what was wrong with the vehicle." McElrath stated that the vehicle drove to Yee's Crabhouse, pulled into the parking lot, and turned around. He testified that the vehicle then proceeded in the same direction from which it had just come. McElrath stated that he then turned on his blue lights. He recalled that the vehicle was driving with a "noticeable swerve, a weave." McElrath testified that he pulled the vehicle over for reckless driving.
McElrath identified the Defendant in court as the driver of the vehicle. After stopping the vehicle, McElrath asked the Defendant to step out of the car because he "notice a very strong smell of an alcoholic beverage." He also noticed that there was "a slight slur to [the Defendant's] speech." McElrath gave the Defendant two field sobriety tests: the walk-and-turn and the one-legged stand. He noted that the Defendant performed both tests poorly. He stated that during the walk-and- turn test, the Defendant did not keep his balance, did not follow instructions, did not consistently walk "heel to toe," and stepped off of the line on which he was walking. McElrath stated that during the one-legged stand test, " here was a noticeable swaying . . . where [the Defendant] was again trying to keep his balance without raising his arms." He also testified that the Defendant "hopped" to maintain his balance and put his foot down during the test.
McElrath placed the Defendant under arrest. He stated that prior to the arrest, he asked the Defendant if he had had anything to drink that night. According to McElrath, the Defendant said that he had drunk two beers that night. He stated that after he placed the Defendant under arrest, the Defendant became "more aggressive, verbally abusive and very demanding." McElrath testified that the Defendant refused to take the blood alcohol test and refused to sign the implied consent form. He stated that the Defendant remained verbally abusive at the jail and later threatened him.
The Defendant testified that he was twenty-nine years old at the time of trial and that he was twenty-eight years old at the time of the offense. He stated that he moved to Chattanooga in 1987. The Defendant reported that he graduated from high school with honors, and then he went to Chattanooga State for roughly four
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