Would your eyes be watery and bloodshot? Do you want to blow me real quick? I don't want to blow you. The odor of alcohol coming from your person. Great. Let's Let's do a test and we'll get to the test. I can't wait. So, what happens if you know nothing pops up? Do you get in trouble? No. Why would I get in trouble? Because you think I'm drinking, but I'm not drinking. He's going to find out I have nothing to drink. He's going to look stupid. How many false accusations you got? Zero. It's about to be your first. Why you shaking so much? It's freezing, man. I wear shorts when it's 30 below. Congratulations. Welcome back to the Lackluster channel. In September of 2022, I published a story featuring Taven. He filed a lawsuit several months after that video suing officers Winter and Wing as well as the city of Newton for fourth amendment violations, state claims against each officer for his false arrest, plus a monell claim and a negligent supervision claim against the city. If you're unfamiliar with the case or want a quick recap, here is a refresher. Taven was pulled over in August of 2022 by officer Nathan Winters for driving with his high beams on. Hi there. How you doing, sir? Good. How are you? Good. My name's Officer Winters with the Newton Police Department. Reason I pull drum is cuz you have your bright lights on. Yeah, I have a I have a headlight out, so I just keep my brights on. Okay. Well, that's not legal. Oh, is it? No. Yeah, I turn when a car when a car comes by, I turn them off. But like Well, you didn't with me. Oh, you weren't close enough though. You were like Yeah, you were a while back. Has to be within 500 ft. Oh, my bad. I'm sorry. And you're not supposed to have your brights on in the city limits. My fault. My fault. You got your license, registration, insurance? Yeah, I got you. I thought it would be better to have them on with the with the headlight off. You know what I'm saying? Is this your car? Yeah. Okay. Where you headed? Back home. Where you coming from? Prince's house. Okay. Anything to drink over there? Nope. I didn't hear what you said. These seemingly innocent answers to insignificant questions are creating a narrative for the officer to arrest Taven in which he was with friends, drinking, or using illegal substances and subsequently driving, which is why it is best to refrain from answering questions from law enforcement officers. When asked if he was drinking, Tavan answers, "Nope." But Lieutenant Winters claims he didn't hear what he said. But as you'll soon realize, it doesn't matter. Lieutenant Winters is already looking for a reason to charge Taven. He provides Lieutenant Winters with the requested documents. And after a few minutes, he asks Tav to remove the gum from his mouth and to enter his cruiser. Do me a favor. Put your gum on the on your dash there. Put my gun on my dash. Yeah. Perfect. We're going to go back here. Okay, cool. You don't have anything on you. No bombs, guns, drugs. No bombs or no drugs. Okay, let's go back here. The officer moved Taven into an enclosed area to see if he could smell alcohol and continues to ask questions that most people would think nothing of. What are you doing at Kraton's house? We just hanging out. Had my girlfriend there. I got you. Just got back from college. Okay. Good old William Penn. Okay. Play football up there. Yes, sir. What position do you play? My receiver. Okay. I didn't make Travel Squad this year though, so I'm back for the weekend. That's why you're home. Yep. After asking just enough questions to form a loose social bond with Taven, Lieutenant Winters dives head first into his line of DUI questioning to catch him off guard. How much have you had to drink tonight? None. What do you mean none? I've had nothing to drink. Okay. Why would you uh why would your eyes be watery and bloodshot? Do you want to blow me real quick? I don't want to blow you. Pause. I got contacts. Okay. But we can do the whole thing. We'll probably get there. Um, how old are you? That's funny. 19. Uh-huh. 19. Okay. I've had nothing to drink. Okay. So, your movements in the car with you fumbling over the registration? Yep. um kind of say otherwise. All right. And so does the odor of alcohol coming from your person. Great. Let's let's do a test and we'll get to the test. I can't wait. So what happens if you know nothing pops up? Do you get in trouble? No. Why would I get in trouble? Because you think I'm drinking, but I'm not drinking. I'm doing what I'm supposed to do. All right, let's let's find out real quick. I'm not going to get in trouble for doing what I'm supposed to do. Can I record it? Yeah, absolutely. What's your name? My name is Officer Winters. So, Officer Winters thinks I'm drinking tonight. We're about to do a test and he's going to find out I had nothing to drink. He's going to look stupid. Ain't that right? I've had nothing to drink. Zero. And we're about to find out. After questioning Taven for a short period, he agrees to perform field sobriety tests. These tests are subjective in nature, and if an officer has already made up their mind that you are intoxicated, they will be looking for specific clues to defend their claim. Anything you do can result in a failure. Inadequate lighting, uneven ground, or even adrenaline spikes that often coincide with being accused of driving under the influence are just a few reasons. And as we've seen time and time again on this channel, perfectly sober individuals are often arrested for their lackluster performance during these tests. A refusal to take field sobriety tests cannot be admitted into evidence at your trial. So, I'm going to actually have you [Applause] stand right here is fine for now. I'm going to have you stand with your heels and toes together with your arms down to your side. Okay. I'm going to check your eyes. Cool. Okay. What I want you to do is follow my finger with your eyes and your eyes only and do not move your head. Okay? Yep. Do you have any questions? Nope. For the first test, Lieutenant Winters uses a high-powered flashlight to conduct the horizontal gaze nestagmus test. I just got my hair, man. The rain's going to up. After shining a flashlight into Tavan's eyes for nearly 2 minutes. Tav shows no signs of impairment, and they move on to the walk-in turn. From this position, you're going to take nine heel to toe steps, touching heel to toe each time, keeping your arms down to your side. Okay, that's just going to look something just like this. One, two, three. You're going to go all the way up to nine. Okay, when you get to your ninth step, leave your front foot on the line. Turn by taking a series of small steps. Turn and take nine heel to toe step back around. Two, three, just like I did. You're going to walk. After nine steps, you're going to take a series of small steps. Take nine steps back. Okay. During this, keep your arms down to your side. Watch your steps. Count your steps out loud. And once you've started walking, do not stop until you've completed the test. Okay. Perfect. Any problems with your ankles, knees, hips, or back? Just my right ankle. What's wrong with your right ankle? Messes up here in football. Okay. Does it prevent you from walking? Just a little bit, but I'll be able to do this. Okay. Does it hurt right now? No. Okay. I have all my weight in my left foot right now. All right. If you don't have any questions, you may be good. Taven completes the test, but takes 13 steps and fails to count out loud. Despite the quick, confusing instructions, Tav showed no signs of being impaired otherwise, but still fails the consensual test. Come on, man. That's too easy. Let's do the breath now. We're two for two. Well, sir, I don't believe you are two for two. How many steps did I say to take? Like eight or nine? I said nine. Why'd you take 14 and then 15? I thought you were going to tell me when to turn. I said to count your steps out loud. Come on, follow. Um, so the next test is I want you to stand with your heels and close together. Stand right here in this flat part. God, you a rookie, bro. Okay. I want you to stand with your heels and toes together with your arms down to your side. This pursuit. No. No way. No. No way. Officer Winters has been with the department for just over 3 years. It is likely that his co-workers have boots with more time in service. But it's important to know that he is administering the tests properly as they were designed. Which is why you should know your local laws and if field sobriety tests are not required, refuse to take them. When I say begin, I want you How many How many false accusations you got? Zero. It's about to be your purse. We'll see. Um, what I want you know, he knows it, too. He knows about the passage. All right. During this, keep your arms down your side. Why you shaking so much? It's freezing, man. Look at you. You got all these clothes on and I got shorts on and it's raining and you false accusing me. So, of course, I'm going to be a little nervous. Yeah. You got nothing to say. Exceptions. Look, you in pants, I'm in shorts and it's raining now. I wear shorts when it's 30 below. Congratulations. Next, the officer administers the one-legg stand, which he performs perfectly and conducts the horizontal gaze nestagmus a second time. Also, showing no signs of impairment, the officers then have Taven count backwards with his eyes closed and head tilted back with his eyes collecting raindrops. When I say begin, I want you to estimate the passing of 30 seconds. Close your eyes and tilt your head back. Okay. Ask me the pets in 3 seconds. Yes, sir. Can I count out loud? If you want. Any questions? No. Okay. During this, you're going to have your eyes closed and your head tilted back. Okay. Eyes closed and head tilted back. Yes. Yeah. Okay. Go ahead. If you don't have any questions, you can close your eyes and tilt your head back. Okay. My editing software shows the exact amount of time that has passed between where Officer Winter says, "Okay." Starting the test, and when Taven completes the test, Taven calls out the 30th second, almost deadon at 30 and 1/10enth of a second. Without swaying or losing his balance, Officer Winters scores him at a 38. Later in the video, 30. What'd you count to? 30. How'd you count there? Just stay in my head. 1 2 3. One Mississippi, two Mississippi. One Mississippi in my head. Okay. All right, one more test here. Hold up. Am I able to get this video? If you want a subpoena. What? If you want a subpoena hit. So, would it be easy to do that? If you have an attorney, you can get it. Yeah. Because Taven has outperformed just about all persons on Earth, save for a couple extra steps during the walk-in turn. Officer Winters now conducts a fifth test to try to pin something on Taven. After the fifth test, they finally have Taven submit a chemical test with a portable breathalyzer test. Stop doing all these damn tests. Let's blow. Let's get to business. [ __ ] up my perm, man. Got the [ __ ] done. Has it been 15 minutes? I used to love doing cops. Used to love them. Never give me no problems till now. My my my beams were on because I have a tail light out, not my tail light. One of the bulbs up front is up. That's why I pulled them up. Okay. I didn't know it was illegal. Let's go to the front of the car here. Do this low 00. Wait for it. Why do you assume I'm because you're showing some very strong signs of impairment? Am I? You were a little bit on the uh fury side with the paperwork. You're not consistent. You're not smooth. I mean, that was kind of consistent. So, that's a that's a tailtale sign. This will show you right here. All right. All right. What I want you to do is make a tight sealer under this and blow outwards like you're blowing up a balloon. Okay. All right. You ready? Yep. Okay. You can relax. Taven blows all zeros, but the officer decides to arrest him anyway. Um, so I'm going to read to you Miranda. Okay. When's the right now you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney if you cannot afford one. We'll be 20 questions. Okay. Is there When's the last time we smoked weed? You never remember that tonight? Oh, okay. Well, I would think it's tonight. I have had no weed tonight. What? Why do you think it's tonight? Why you think I smoke? I blew zero. So now you're trying to think I smoke weed. That's what's going on. You can't do that, man. You really can't do that. Absolutely I can. Is he allowed to do that? Yes, he is. I told Zero you drugs, man. That's what we on zeros. So you think I'm on drugs? That's ridiculous. I would uh during my field sobriety I it is indicative of impairment. So let's let's let's be honest. I'm being honest. You smoke some weed at your friend's house? No. You hit a pin? Nope. Okay. Why is your field why is your field sobriety so poor? What? Why is your field sobriety so poor? Why are you so lethargic and slowm moving and speaking with a slur speech and your eyes are watery and your eyes are bloodshot? You know they're watery. Probably rain right now, dumb ass. It doesn't affect them in the car or in my car. Well, I don't know what you're seeing cuz I can't see my eyes. No weed. I don't smoke weed. I play college football. I told you that. We get tested every Friday. Okay. No smoke weed every Saturday. Okay. It's 30. We say it's on your for 30 days. So if I did a test next week, I'd be off the football team, you dumbass. Come on. Come on. I want that video, too. Okay. But I think you're impaired. I think you're under the influence. You think I'm impaired? Yes. Well, I'm not. Okay. Do you uh you want to talk to another officer? Yeah. Yeah. Come over here. Okay. Do you want to do a drug recognition evaluation or drug influence evaluations? What's that? Uh there's an officer who checks your blood pressure, does a whole bunch of tests? Yeah, let's do it. Okay, let's do it. You don't have to stand in the rain for that either. I don't have to. You don't stand in the rain for that, though. It's unclear whether this text message has anything to do with the stop, but the message displayed on screen reads, "I've never want to throat punch someone." so hard in my life. This message has been sent by Officer Shinkles, the drug recognition expert who happened to be off duty at the time and allegedly had to be called into work to complete this investigation. Mom, he's caught me down and he was driving test. I blew zero and now he's accusing me of being on drugs right now. What's his name? Uh, Officer Winters. He's he's running away. Officer Winters. And the chief's not doing anything. Officer Winters. Yeah, I passed I passed his tent. He's being a [ __ ] Sir, sir, why am I still here? Honestly, because he believes you're under the influence and is there someone above? I'm I'm I'm the lieutenant. I'm in charge. So, why is this allowed? Because if he believes you're under the influence, that's his specialty. That's what he thought I was drunk. I wasn't drunk. Taven makes a great point there. If you recall, Officer Winter claims he can smell alcohol. So, your movements in the car with you fumbling over the registration? Yep. Um, kind of say otherwise. All right. And so does the odor of alcohol coming from your person. Taven blew zeros and the only other two people in the vehicle happen to be Officer Winters and his partner. With Tav's protests, Officer Winters now calls for a drug recognition expert. Um, I stopped this guy for having his brakes on. Um he's he fumbles around with his uh registration three or four five times. He uh um he bomb soiety LOC is present. Finger to nose is bad. Modified Romberg was 38. Um he I asked him I said I read Miranda PBT triple0. I said when's the last time you smoked weed? And he hesitated for a long period of time and said I honestly can't remember. Um, so he he says he'll do an evaluation, but he's kind of a smartass. All right, that's what we'll do then. Okay, but I obviously have enough for to charge him with the sobriety, so I'll I'll ask him and I'll let you know. Just start heading to the PD and I'll let you know. Taven is now placed under arrest and transported to the local police station. No, having a hard time breathing. It sounds like you're breathing just fine. I can't I can literally can't breathe through my nose right now. Through your nose? Yeah. Yeah. Just can I just use it, please? I I keep it on me for a reason. After being read his rights, the drug recognition expert finally arrives on scene and conducts a more thorough test with Haven indoors, on level ground, and out of the rain. One of the most interesting parts was the test that needed to be done in complete darkness. So, the officer brought Taven into the bathroom. All right. So, while we're in the dark, I've got my fancy blue pen light. Okay. Um, I want you to put your hands on your lap. I'm just going to check your hands out. Okay. Good. You want to flip your hands over. [Music] Any glow-in-the-dark tattoos? No. Go and tilt your head back and look down your real because I see like YouTube videos of like all the Germans popping up. Well, you know what? I if it is it not the same word? I don't want to get my janitors in trouble. How was that? Okay, go ahead and tilt your head back and uh stick out your tongue and say ah ah. After nearly an hour of more testing, the drug recognition expert clears Taven, finding no evidence of intoxication. And before he left, Taven asks to speak with Officer Winters. Hi, buddy. What's going on? So, uh, I just want to know like how does it feel? How does it feel for remember I told you when you first pulled me over? I have nothing to drink. He's going to look stupid. You're like, you're impaired. You're on drugs. You drink alcohol. Turns out I'm not on any of that. Okay. Really dumb decision by you today. I'm really disappointed in how you can't bite your drug. I based my decision on your field to write a test. Was it really failed though? was it was pouring outside. It was terrible cement. Okay. But like I said, I'll blow right away. I do everything. But there's also steps that I have to go through. Did you really thought I was drunk? The way I first spoke with you and your movements, I believe something was off. That's crazy, man. Was this your first false accusation? No. You said it was. I've been wrong many times. How many false accusations you got? Zero. It's about to be your first. M. We'll see. Yeah, I can tell. Terrible, man. So, it's terrible. I hope you do it better than that next time. Next time, I would recommend asking for clarification. If you don't understand something, ask. But I didn't need to do all this extra [ __ ] Okay. Well, that's why we offer the test to you is like I you wasted my night 3 hours. Was it three or two hours? I don't know. We can't we can't have this happen in a minute, man. I love it. Okay. I want you to do a better job than that. Okay. Okay. as I'm a citizen here. I love Newton cops. You like you're probably a good guy, right? You're probably a great guy. And I'm a good guy. I don't have any record and you do that to me. Like there's other guys probably out in Newton right now breaking the law. Actually breaking the law. Like not over saying there's not. And you waste your time with me and there could someone's mom could be getting killed right now. You don't know. But you got unlikely, but yeah, possible. And it was unlikely I was drunk. Uh all all of your indications from the time have stopped. My breath didn't smell like weed. Didn't smell like alcohol. This does smell like alcohol for sure. So I couldn't find any other way you would want to arrest me. I offered you when I offered you the drug recognition influence evaluation, you said no. So I had to go off of what I had on field sobriety. Oh yeah. Do you want to do a drug recognition evaluation or a drug influence evaluation? What's that? Uh, there's an officer who checks your blood pressure, does a whole bunch of tests. Yeah, let's do it. Okay, let's do it. You don't have to stand in the rain for that either. I don't have to. You don't stand in the rain for that, though. We just got to do better than that. We just got to do better than that. I deserve a I guess. I'm sorry. Damn, that [ __ ] feel good. If anything, at the time I made that video, this channel was less than a third of its current size, and we helped raise a little over $3,000 for Taven. And by December, the lawsuit was being drafted and was filed in January of 2023. Tavven sued Officer Winters and Wing as well as the city of Newton. And after posting his raw footage to YouTube, it hit 2 million views. My coverage is currently over a million views as well. And in 2023, tons of other channels picked it up, and the verality of the video hurt the officers feeling so bad that they filed a counter suit against Taven. Initially, they alleged that they had experienced emotional distress and then changed their lawsuit to defamation and invasion of privacy. But the district court almost immediately dismissed nearly all of the officers claims, deeming most of the captions in Tavven's video as non-actionable statements of opinion or rhetorical hyperbole, which are both considered non-defamy. The remaining claim against Taven was because Winters had a protective order filed against him by his ex-wife. One of the court readings claimed it was for domestic abuse. But in the counter suit, the officer claimed that he was not convicted of domestic abuse, but I was unable to find any updates on that counter suit. But as for Tav's lawsuit, the district court denied summary judgement in part, deeming that the officers were not entitled to qualified immunity or state statutory immunity, and the city was subject to vicarious liability on a surviving state law claim. But the officers and city appealed the denial of qualified immunity and state statutory immunity for the Iowa claim and sought to dismiss the city's liability. In reviewing the case, the court found that Taven did have his high beams on, but otherwise there was no suggestion that he was driving erratically. Winters had made several ridiculous observations in the video to pin a DUI on Taven. And after being named in a federal lawsuit, Officer Winters then claimed that Tav manifested other physical signs of impairment during the sobriety tests. But the district court found that Taven had performed the tests without issue and that no probable cause existed for his arrest. In the appeal, the officers also claimed that they were entitled to immunity even without having probable cause because they had arguable probable cause, which is when an officer mistakenly arrests a subject, believing that the arrest is based on probable cause, but only if the mistake is objectively reasonable. But the appeals court bent Officer Winters and Wing over and dealt them a nice spanking. They found that no officer could reasonably conclude that there was a substantial chance that Taven was under the influence of marijuana or any other substance. Taven evinced almost no indicia of intoxication, no erratic driving, no odor of marijuana, no watery or bloodshot eyes, no staggering or physical instability, no refusal to take sobriety tests. Rather, he twice asked to take a breathalyzer test, and he denied drinking alcohol or smoking marijuana that day or night. Moreover, Tavven's movements and behavior captured on Officer Winter's body camera footage suggested the opposite of intoxication. As the district court found, and as the footage shows, Taven was moving confidently and directing subtle and not so subtle verbal jabs at Winters in a manner that would have been difficult for an impaired person. The appellet court declined to exercise jurisdiction as to the state law claims, but held that the officers subjected Taven to a warrantless arrest, unsupported by arguable probable cause, and concluded that they had violated his clearly established rights. That means that neither the officers or the city of Newton have immunity and the case now returns to the district court where usually they'll either offer Taven a settlement or take it all the way to trial. Either way, the whole thing has been one massive waste of taxpayer money. But it's still likely that the city will indemnify their officers. This means that even though they are not shielded by qualified immunity, the city will essentially volunteer our tax dollars to pay for any settlements, legal fees, or judgments made against the officers. Taven is likely to be victorious, and he should be, and the taxpayers will be thoroughly punished for the officers wrongdoings. Let me know what you think in the comments down below. And if you have a video you want me to feature on this channel, use my form in the description or pinned comment. And as always, if you like this episode, be sure to check out another one linked on your screen.