Judge Mendez
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DEFENDANT was charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. The court ordered a pretrial Dunaway/Johnson, Mapp and Huntley hearing. An officer testified that he came to the scene of defendant’s vehicle after she was pulled over for speeding. He approached her and smelled alcohol on her breath, noticing she had bloodshot and watery eyes. The officer administered a field test that registered defendant’s blood alcohol content to be .088, above the legal limit, thus transported her to the 45th Precinct for a Breathalyzer test. The court stated that an officer not present at the time defendant was stopped for a traffic violation, but observed “classic signs of intoxication,” could establish probable cause under the “fellow officer rule.” It found the officer’s observations justified his actions, noting defendant failed to provide sufficient evidence of police misconduct or lack of probable cause to refute the prosecutor’s claims. The court found the officer provided defendant with the required warnings of the effects of refusing to take a Breathalyzer and refusal was admissible at trial. It ruled the results of the test, which registered a blood alcohol content of .064, were admissible at trial. Thus, defendant’s motion was denied.
