Last week, retired firefighter Jessie Thornton was pulled over in Surprise, Ariz. (yeah, we know), then arrested and charged with DUI. There was a small problem: Thornton had no liquor in his system. Police officers pulled Thornton over at night after claiming they saw him cross the white line in his lane. According to Thornton, an officer walked up to him and said "I can tell you're driving DUI by looking in your eyes."
Thornton explained that his eyes were bloodshot because he had been swimming at an LA Fitness in the area, a completely logical reason. The officer recommended a sobriety test, even though Thornton advised that he had bad knees and was two days away from hip replacement surgery.
Following the test, Thornton was placed under arrest and taken to the police station for a breathalyzer test. After it registered a 0.00, a drug recognition expert was summoned and confirmed that Thornton was completely sober. He even told the 64-year-old "I would not have arrested you."
Regardless, Thornton's car was impounded and his license was suspended. The DUI charge was dropped, but this is far from over—Thornton has filed a $500,000 against the city. Surprise had to see that one coming.
