On October 29th, 2006 driving home from a party in Ocean city Maryland, Delaware State Rep. John C. Atkins was pulled over while speeding and driving erratically. Atkins registered a blood-alcohol content of 0.14 on a breath test, considerably above the 0.08 legal limit in Maryland, admitted to having been drinking, and had open containers in his car.
Atkins was not arrested, however, when he showed his state legislator ID and said that Delaware State Police could be used to drive him home. (Backstory link)
The non-arrest was documented but not reported and when questions were raised Atkins lied about the night's events in order to keep the incident under wraps until after his re-election in November.
The drunk driving story broke on local blogs in December and since then has sucked an ever expanding group of people interested in covering for the clearly drunk driving state lawmaker into a vortex of public outrage.
The first ring of asscover-ers was the Ocean City police department and the OCPD chief of police. The chief went so far as to excuse the non-arrest on the grounds that being talked about on blogs, talk radio and newspapers was a "worse punishment" for a state lawmaker and politician than jail.
As the public outcry grew MADD initially lamented the non-arrest.
"I think the police department owes the public some answers," he said. "It appears on the surface a bad decision was made. ... What we don't know is are other people given similar breaks that do not get publicized?"
In spite of the tough talk, after meeting with the OCPD, MADD quickly figured out what side its bread was buttered on.
OCPD came under fire when news broke that Smith and Smolko stopped Atkins, who was allegedly driving erratically and blew a .14 in his preliminary breath test, but decided against making a DUI arrest.
"We feel very confident that the officers followed the proper procedures and protocols," said Caroline Cash, executive director for the Chesapeake Region of MADD.
This abandonment of it's core mission on the part of MADD in the face of such an open and shut case of favortism, is now raising questions about both MADD's seriousness of purpose and it's cozy financial relationship with state governments.
On Friday, Cash and her organization handled nearly 50 e-mails from people who couldn't understand why MADD help cover for Atkins.
"I will never again support any MADD organization unless a retraction is printed about your support of a DRUNK DRIVER being permitted to leave the scene of a CRIME, and yes it was a crime," read one e-mail, which Cash forwarded to The News Journal. "You are supporting a DRUNK DRIVER and the police who let him go."
Many people felt favoritism was shown to Atkins, who flashed his legislator ID to police during the stop.
While the non-arrest of Atkins continues to taint the OCPD and MADD, Atkins himself has so far been unscathed by the incident. After winning his election on false pretenses, Atkins was recently sworn in and is expected to ride out the controversy with the help of a slow, quiet, in house "ethics committee" investigation.
UDATE: More Delawareans are mad at MADD.
Dana Garrett on his influential local blog demolishes the OCPD and MADD asscovering.
UPDATE: MADD's statement that officer's followed proper procdures" directly contradicts one they made when Patrick Kennedy was involved in a DUI in Washington:
Today the Wilmington News Journal reported:
"We feel very confident that the officers followed the proper procedures and protocols," said Caroline Cash, executive director for the Chesapeake Region of MADD.
But when Patrick Kennedy was invoved in a DUI incident, they took a harder line:
No one, including lawmakers, is above the law and law enforcement officers should administer field sobriety tests whenever they suspect that a driver is impaired by alcohol or drugs.
So which is it MADD?