A college student is suing his hometown after he was arrested during a traffic stop despite blowing zero during a breathalyzer test.
Tayvin Galanakis began legal proceedings shortly after his 2022 arrest, but the matter has been held up due to appeals by the trio of officers involved.
The appeals court has now sided with Galanakis, ruling that he can sue and citing extraordinary footage in which shows the then 19-year-old placed in handcuffs and told he is under arrest as he says: ‘I blew zero.’
Galanakis, now 21, is suing the city of Newtown in Iowa, as well as officers Nathan Winters and Christopher Wing for arresting him without cause and violating his civil rights in the process.
He was forced to stand in icy cold weather as rain poured down and undergo a series of rigorous field sobriety tests, despite asking from the outset to take a breathalyzer test to prove he was not under the influence.
The court ruled: ‘Galanakis’s movements and behavior captured on Winters’s body camera footage suggest the opposite of intoxication.
‘As the district court found, and as the footage shows, ”Galanakis 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”.’
In the video from August 28, 2022 just after midnight, arresting officer Winters asks Galanakis ‘how much have you had to drink tonight,’ to which he answers: ‘None.’
He’s told he has ‘watery and bloodshot eyes’ and asked to step out of the car to undergo several field sobriety tests.
‘I’ve had nothing to drink. Zero.’
The exchange was civil and polite as the pair discussed their high school and college football careers, but took a turn after Galanakis passed all of the field sobriety tests.
‘Why are you shaking so much?’ Winters asked him.
‘It’s freezing man,’ Galanakis answered. ‘You’ve got all these clothes on and I’ve got shorts on and it’s raining.
‘And you’re false accusing me, so of course I’m going to be a little nervous.’
The court ruling stated: ‘Winters and Wing saw Galanakis driving with his high beams on and initiated a traffic stop. Otherwise, there is no suggestion that Galanakis was driving erratically.
‘Galanakis was chewing gum, and there were multiple air fresheners hanging from the car’s rearview mirror.’
The teenager then asked again to take a breathalyzer test, and when Winters obliged, it returned a reading of a blood alcohol content of 0.00.
He was then read his Miranda rights and Winters immediately asked when Galanakis last smoked marijuana.
He took up to 10 seconds before he answered ‘I do not remember that’, which officers in their defense claimed should have justified the probable cause.
But the court said it was reasonable to assume Galanakis would be weighing his choice of words immediately after being Mirandized.
‘Galanakis insisted that he had not smoked that night. He explained that, as a member of the William Penn University football team, he was drug-tested every week; if he smoked, he would get kicked off the team.’
In the extraordinary exchange, Galanakis said: ‘I blow zero so now you think I smoke weed? You can’t do that man, you really can’t do that. I blow zero so you think I’m on drugs?
‘That’s ridiculous.’
The college student was then arrested under suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
A drug evaluation conducted at the police station concluded that Galanakis was not under the influence of any illicit substances, and he was released.
The court determined the officers ‘lacked arguable probable cause to arrest for such intoxication offenses when a suspect is ”not visibly intoxicated” and ”neither his speech nor his actions” suggest intoxication.’
Factors that indicate intoxication include ‘the odor of alcohol or marijuana on the driver; slurred speech; erratic driving; bloodshot or watery eyes; an unstable gait; and refusing to take a breathalyzer, do field sobriety tests, or otherwise cooperate with police.’
The court found ‘no officer could reasonably conclude that there was a substantial chance that Galanakis was under the influence of marijuana.
‘Galanakis 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.’
The court’s findings mean Galanakis can now proceed with his suit against the officers and the state.