Chicago Officer will not Stand Trial for DUI

Chicago police officer John Ardelean will not stand trial for felony drunk driving in a crash that resulted in two fatalities, after a judge determined that there was “no indication of impairment” and no probable cause for the case to proceed. Prosecutors had argued that the case against the officer should proceed, even though the car the officer hit had run a stop sign. Investigators determined that the officer had fully applied the brakes when the crash occurred in an attempt to avoid the other vehicle.

Surveillance video from a bar showed the officer drinking one shot and “three regular-sized glasses” within a two and a half hour time frame. The bartender testified that the officer did not appear to be drunk. Two witnesses at the crash scene said the officer did appear to be drunk. The accident occurred about 20 minutes after the officer left the bar.

The officer refused to take field sobriety and Breathalyzer tests. A Police Department-ordered test taken almost eight hours later showed a blood alcohol level of .032. Testimony by a doctor with the Illinois State Police estimated the officer’s blood alcohol to be .104 to .177 at the time of the crash-over the legal limit of .08.

The judge rejected the doctor’s assumptions regarding the estimate of the officer’s blood alcohol level and gave greater weight to the testimony of the bartender and the officers investigating the initial accident, who indicated they saw no signs of the officer being drunk.

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