Richmond Officer's DWI Charge Thrown Out

ROSENBURG, Tx - A Richmond police officer is still on the job after being charged with DWI, a case that ended up thrown out of court.

Richmond police Sergeant Steve Eiteman was off duty when he was pulled over by a Rosenberg officer around 2:00 a.m. in December 2009 for not having a license plate on the front of his personal car.

Eiteman immediately got out of his car and Rosenberg officer Justin Pannell asks him to get back inside.

As Eiteman continued to walk forward, the officer told Sgt. Eiteman to put his hands on the car.

Pannell shouted several commands and Eiteman didn't follow any of them.

Pannell got Eiteman on the ground and handcuffed him.

The dash cam video shows the more than 30-year-veteran officer on the ground saying "I'm a Richmond police officer".

After a short scuffle Pannell put Eiteman in the backseat of his patrol car.

Eiteman continued to tell Pannell to search his pockets and told him again he was a Richmond police officer.

Pannell pulled beer cans from Eiteman's car.

The Rosenberg officer said there were five factors that led him to arrest Eiteman.

"He was not obeying the officers commands, he smelled of alcohol, he had slurred speech, he was unsteady on his feet and he had urinated on himself" says Rosenberg Assistant Chief Dallis Warren.

What was Eiteman's blood alcohol level that early December morning?

"The intoxilizer test showed it was twice the legal limit. It was a little over .16" says Warren.

"It's disheartening. Of all people, an officer. He should know better. He's seen the fatalities" says Bridget Anderson with Mother's Against Drunk Driving.

Before a jury could hear any of this, Fort Bend County Judge Ben Childers ruled to throw out any evidence gathered after the handcuffs went on Eiteman.

According to the judge, prior to the cuffs going on, Officer Pannell did not have probable cause to arrest Eiteman. It's against the law for officers to first arrest someone without probable cause then gather evidence later.

The officer argues he had plenty of probable cause.

"Obviously it's well within the judge's discretion to make the decision he made. We disagree with it" says Warren.

Eiteman, 64, is said to wear a hearing aid.

His attorney has previously said Eiteman didn't respond to the officers commands because the device came out of his ear.

"I would love to talk with the officer to see if he has learned his lesson" says Anderson.

The Houston metropolitan area is number one in the country for DWI arrests and fatalities.