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Man Drinks Beer While Driving Through DUI Checkpoint

By Andrew Chow, Esq. on August 08, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Beer and DUI checkpoints don't mix, especially if you happen to be tossing back a brewski while behind the wheel.

David Caruso learned that the hard way over the weekend. No, not the famous David Caruso of CSI and NYPD Blue fame. This David Caruso, 51, of Coventry, Conn., had his license suspended for a prior drunken driving arrest, The Hartford Courant reports.

But that apparently didn't stop Caruso from hopping into a car and allegedly doing something quite stupid.

Police allegedly caught David Caruso driving while drinking a beer at a DUI checkpoint in Vernon, Conn., on Saturday, the Courant reports.

Alas, news reports don't indicate if Caruso was drinking from a can, a bottle, a thermos, or perhaps one of those novelty beer guzzler hats. It's also not clear how police identified his drink as beer.

We'll leave those pressing questions to Caruso's local defense attorney, who may try to poke holes in police evidence as his case proceeds.

That lucky lawyer will have to defend Caruso from charges of drinking while driving, operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, and operating an unregistered motor vehicle, according to the Courant.

Caruso, however, apparently hadn't been drinking that much (or perhaps his beer was really weak). Police did not have enough evidence to arrest him for DUI, the Courant reports. In Connecticut, that requires a blood alcohol concentration of at least 0.08%.

Police likely tried to collect such evidence at their DUI checkpoint, perhaps with an on-scene alcohol breath test or even a subsequent blood test. In general, police are allowed to conduct checkpoints if they adhere to constitutional limits.

David Caruso's allegedly brazen beer drinking at a DUI checkpoint got him booked into jail. He was released after posting $2,500 bail, The Hartford Courant reports.

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