NEED TO KNOW
- The Westminster Police Department in Colorado released bodycam footage of the DUI arrest of a man who had three children hiding in his trunk
- In the footage, the officer could be heard asking the man whether he had been drinking and then asking him to do “roadside maneuvers” before handcuffing him
- The driver then admitted that he had three children hiding in his trunk, who police confirmed were unharmed despite the freezing temperatures outside
Police in Colorado made a shocking discovery after catching a drunk driver.
The Westminster Police Department (WPD) in Colorado shared bodycam footage on Facebook from a recent driving under the influence (DUI) bust, which also involved several underage children.
The incident began when a WPD traffic officer observed a car driving recklessly in the area of City Center Dr and 93rd Ave. in Westminster, Colo. The officer made contact with the driver and “immediately noticed the smell of alcohol,” per WPD.
In the footage, the officer could be heard asking the driver — whose face was obscured — why he believed he was being stopped and whether he had drunk alcohol. The driver said that he believed he was stopped because he was “acting like an idiot” and denied drinking any alcohol.
The officer responded, “You’re lucky you didn’t hit somebody… Are you sure you didn’t drink any alcohol because I got a smell of alcohol coming from the vehicle right now?”
The officer then asked the driver if he would be willing to “do some voluntary roadside maneuvers,” to which the driver initially agreed, but then appeared to quickly change his mind. After that, the officer could be heard telling him, “You don’t want to complete these? Alright, put your hands behind your back.”
The Westminster Police Department Facebook
After the driver was handcuffed by the officer, he admitted that he had three children hiding in his trunk. “So, you have three kids hiding in the trunk?,” the officer asked him. “You didn’t think that would be a good idea to say something before? he added.
When officers opened the trunk, they indeed found three children squeezed together in the back. The WPD did not identify whether the children belonged to the driver in its statement.
“We’d like to point out it was also freezing temps outside during this stop,” the WPD said in a statement. “Luckily, the kids were unharmed.”
“Several bottles of alcohol were also recovered from inside the vehicle,” police added.
The Westminster Police Department Facebook
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Child Protective Services was contacted and the kids were released to family.
The driver, meanwhile, was arrested on suspicion of DUI, reckless driving, failure to provide a valid insurance, and three counts of child abuse. He was transported to Adams County Jail.
WPD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on this case.
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