SOUTHWEST FLORIDA – Kyra Shportun ABC7-Fort Myers, FL
6:41 PM EST, Tue March 09, 2021
A Lee County Sheriff’s Office commander was arrested for DUI in Collier County.
Just after 11 p.m. Sunday Commander Mark Shelly, 42, was pulled over for making an illegal u-turn in North Naples and swerving in and out of his lane of traffic, according to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.
Shelly was pulled over on Vanderbilt Drive where deputies said he was seen putting gum in his mouth. Shelly told deputies he ran off the road momentarily because he was texting his wife and trying to follow a GPS, according to the arrest report. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office commander failed field sobriety exercises and refused to take a breathalyzer test, deputies said. Read Full Article.
Even a high-ranking and decorated police commander knows better than to submit to a breath test. The other side of the coin is the hypocricy of not submitting to a breath test by a sworn law enforcement officer when LEO’s frequently advise arrestees that when they sign their driver license they agree to submit to any chemical test as required by the Florida Implied Consent Law. And, prosecutors pound that argument home during trial while reminding jurors that refusal is evidence of consciousness of guilt. It just goes to show that all people can make mistakes, even cops.
