Fighting drunk driving: not so straightforward
The fight against drunk driving is not as simple as many would like it to be. Several states have already come under criticism for arresting dozens, if not hundreds, of people for driving under the influence, even when drivers had no alcohol or drugs in their system. Now a similar case has occurred in Arizona, and the words of the officer who conducted the stop have become the basis for a lawsuit.
The officer’s words that became key
“They’re going to kick me off the squad if I don’t get a DUI.” These words, spoken by a second officer at the precinct, are central to the case filed against the authorities by plaintiff Brianna Longoria. She is the bride-to-be who was stopped by Phoenix police officers a few days after her arrival in Arizona for a wedding, an event planned so that her ill father could attend.
The stop and initial contradictions
She claims she was pulled over on December 29, 2024, for allegedly running a red light. The problem is that, according to reports, body camera video shows the light was green. The officer later even rescinded the citation after reviewing the footage. The situation gets even more confusing from there.
Zero readings and negative tests
Longoria blew a 0.000 on the breathalyzer. Field sobriety tests showed no signs of impairment. A later blood test came back negative for both drugs and alcohol. And still, she was arrested for DUI. According to ABC 15, the lawsuit alleges that the arresting officer fabricated signs of impairment — from “glossy eyes” to failed sobriety tests — to justify the charge.
At the station: “supernormal” results
At the station, another officer described Longoria’s results as “supernormal.” But the arrest stood, and it was then that one of the officers complained she could be kicked off the squad if she didn’t make a DUI arrest. “I can’t just conjure one up… I have tried,” she says. The response she receives is no less damning. “You can. You can,” another officer said, according to the complaint.
Pressure and a culture of arrests
This pressure — to make DUI arrests — is a significant part of this lawsuit. The complaint alleges this was not an isolated mistake. It points to a broader culture where DUI numbers are closely tracked, and officers feel pressure to secure arrests, regardless of whether the evidence supports them. The Phoenix Police Department, for its part, denies having any quota system and states the case is under internal review.
Phoenix PD bodycam just dropped the quiet part out loud.
Officer Annette Hannah, while processing a woman who blew triple zero on the breathalyzer and passed every test:
“They’re gonna kick me off squad if I don’t get a DUI… I can’t just conjure one up. I have tried.”Her… pic.twitter.com/A0V2dcALhu
Credit: Phoenix PD
This case raises serious questions about how police departments evaluate the performance of their officers. When the primary metric for success becomes the number of arrests, rather than the quality of investigations, it creates a dangerous precedent. Pressure on officers can lead to unfounded charges that ruin the lives of innocent people, as in the case of Brianna Longoria. It is worth noting that similar incidents have already been recorded in other states, indicating a systemic problem rather than isolated errors. The lack of clear control mechanisms and evidence verification at the scene allows such situations to occur again and again, undermining public trust in law enforcement.