Commerce GA cop suspended after making multiple false arrests for DUI

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For nearly a year, the Commerce Police Department charged innocent people with driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol who insisted all along there was no evidence to make an arrest.

One of them passed breathalyzer tests 10 times either in the field or at the jail, yet he was still charged with drunk driving.

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"Thought I was coming down here to have dinner with my friends, listen to some people sing karaoke and then go home," Aaron Cash said while sitting outside a popular Commerce bar. "But apparently he had other ideas."

Officer Wood: "Are you sure you only had one beer and one shot?"

Cash: "Yes sir."

Officer Wood: "Because that’s not what I’m seeing."

Yet, Officer Wood failed to put in his report something he did see: the results of a breathalyzer field test to detect alcohol. Cash blew a triple zero — no alcohol detected… eight times at the scene.

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At the Jackson County Jail, Officer Wood called in a Jefferson police officer who was certified to use a more elaborate alcohol sensor, the Intoxilyzer 9000.

Cash blew two more times and then waited for the Jefferson cop to read the results.

Here’s what Cash remembers happening next:

"He starts looking through the paperwork, and then he looks at me, looks over at the arresting officer, looks back at me and says, ‘Is this a F-ing joke?’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ And he said, ‘Because you blew triple zeros twice. Like you’re not drunk. I don’t know why you’re here.’"

The Jefferson Police chief said his officer did not dispute Cash's recollection of that night.

Even though he had now passed 10 breath tests, Wood still charged Cash with drunk driving.

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The FOX 5 I-Team took a look as well. In 2023, Wood made 69 DUI arrests. That’s twice as many (31) as the rest of the Commerce Police Department combined.

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