RUTLAND — The head of the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce has been cited into court on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to police.
However, whether that citation leads to the filing of a formal charge by a prosecutor may still be an open question.
That’s because police say Mary Cohen’s roadside blood-alcohol test early Saturday registered above 0.08 percent, but the evidentiary breath test at the police station was lower than 0.08.
The legal limit for driving in Vermont in most cases is 0.08 percent.
Cpl. Jeffrey Warfle pulled Cohen over for failing to signal and making an improper left turn, according to the police chief.
Warfle could smell “a strong odor of intoxicants” on Cohen’s breath and “made some observations that would indicate impairment,” Kilcullen said. The officer conducted field sobriety tests, the chief said.
Kilcullen declined to reveal the exact numbers for the blood-alcohol tests. That information typically becomes public after an arraignment on the charge and the filing of a police affidavit in the case.
Cohen’s arraignment is set for Dec. 11 in Rutland Superior Court, according to the police chief.
Cohen did not return phone calls Wednesday seeking comment.
Rutland County State’s Attorney Rose Kennedy declined to comment Wednesday on Cohen’s case. However, speaking generally, the prosecutor talked about the steps she takes when a roadside test is above 0.08 percent and the evidentiary test is below 0.08.
“If that test were to come in below a .08 we would ask the state chemist to evaluate that number and do what’s called a relation back analysis,” the prosecutor said. “They may be able to tell us that actually at the time of the operation the (blood alcohol content) was above a .08.”
Kennedy said she also considers several other factors in such cases before deciding whether to bring a charge, including how a person was driving at the time of the stop, how well he or she performed on the field sobriety tests, and witness statements.
“Remember,” Kennedy said, “in the state of Vermont a DUI is either driving under the influence or driving above a .08.”
Bill Ackerman, president of the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce board of directors, provided a statement on behalf of the chamber when asked for comment.
“The chamber understands the severity of the charge and the risk that DUI offenders pose to the people of our community,” Ackerman said in the statement. “Mary has done an outstanding job in her leadership role at the chamber, and we are respectful of her right to the judicial process.”
Read the story on VTDigger here: Rutland chamber leader’s DUI citation spotlights legal limbo.