Hearing on state trooper’s OUI arrest continued

BANGOR – A hearing Tuesday on pretrial motions stemming from the May arrest of a Maine state trooper for alleged drunken driving was continued until next month.

The Auburn attorney for Tammy J. Doyle, 35, of Corinna filed four motions shortly after Doyle pleaded not guilty in June to driving under the influence of intoxicants, resisting arrest, failing to sign a traffic ticket and refusing to take a breath test. Doyle did submit to a blood test to determine blood alcohol level.

The motions filed by Leonard Sharon seek to suppress evidence gathered by officers at the scene, statements made by Doyle that night, and to exclude her refusal to take the breath test.

Nicholas Fletcher, a part-time officer with the Dexter Police Department testified Tuesday that Doyle nearly caused an accident when she backed the cruiser out of a motel driveway on Route 7. Her action forced another vehicle into the path of his Dexter police vehicle, the officer said.

Fletcher stopped Doyle, who was not in uniform. He testified Tuesday that her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were glassy, her speech was slurred and she smelled of alcohol.

He told the court that he turned on the audio tape recorder on his gun belt because Doyle was getting more and more agitated. Fletcher said he called for backup to have another officer at the scene because he had never dealt with a fellow law enforcement officer suspected of breaking the law.

Sharon’s cross-examination focused on the factors Fletcher used to decide Doyle should be placed under arrest, the procedure he followed as he approached Doyle’s vehicle and his previous experience with drunken driving arrests in Pittsfield, where he worked full time for 15 months.

Doyle’s attorney said after the hearing adjourned that his goal was to show that Fletcher did not have probable cause to arrest Doyle for drunken driving and that when the officer told her she could not leave the scene, she was in custody and should have been given a Miranda warning of her rights.

Sharon said that if the judge rules in his client’s favor, all of the evidence and Doyle’s statements would have to be excluded from trial, which would make it difficult for the Piscataquis County District Attorney’s Office to prosecute Doyle.

On Tuesday, Hjelm granted Sharon’s motion to permit an expert hired by the defense to conduct tests on the audiotape and to attempt to enhance inaudible portions.

The hearing is expected to resume Christmas week, but a date and time has not been set.

A prosecution motion to exclude information from Fletcher’s personnel file also remains pending.

Doyle was assigned to the training division as a K-9 trainer. She remains on unpaid administrative leave from the Maine State Police.