Tennessee DUI Cases Dismissed After Trooper Arrested Sober Drivers
Prosecutors in Bedford County, Tennessee, have dismissed forty-one DUI arrests made by a single Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper, with more than half of those cases involving drivers who were later found to be completely sober. The dismissals stem from arrests conducted between 2021 and 2024 by former Trooper Asa Pearl, according to records obtained by local news outlet WSMV4.
Details of the Dismissed Cases
A spreadsheet from the Bedford County District Attorney's office reveals that twenty-two of the forty-one dismissed cases involved drivers who had no drugs or alcohol in their system at the time of testing, or whose blood alcohol levels were within legal limits. One of those drivers, Ron LaFlamme, recounted being pulled over and asked to perform a sobriety test despite having consumed neither alcohol nor drugs.
"I was surprised when he started asking me to do a sobriety test," LaFlamme told WSMV4 in an interview. "It was wrongful arrest."
The remaining nineteen dismissals were attributed to procedural issues, including the arresting trooper's unavailability for court or inability to recall specifics of the traffic stops, officials stated.
Legal and Systemic Concerns
Attorney David McKenzie, who represents LaFlamme, noted that word of the dismissals spread among local defense attorneys, raising significant concerns about enforcement practices. "I know that during the time that Ron's case was making its way through the court, Ron's case was not the only one with this particular trooper, where blood results were coming back negative," McKenzie said.
He emphasized the broader implications, adding, "This could happen to your child. This could happen to your parent. This could happen to your coworker."
Background and Broader Investigation
Former Trooper Asa Pearl resigned from the Tennessee Highway Patrol in 2024. His personnel file offers no explanation for his departure and makes no mention of the dozens of DUI cases that were later dismissed, according to the report. Pearl did not respond to WSMV4's requests for comment, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol declined to comment on the matter.
This latest report is part of WSMV4's "Sobering Problem" series, which investigates Tennessee's troubling pattern of sober drivers being wrongly arrested for DUI and left waiting months for blood test results to prove their innocence.
Statewide Data Reveals Larger Issue
Last month, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation acknowledged it had undercounted DUI cases involving people who had no drugs or alcohol in their system. New data shows that from 2017 to 2024, more than 2,500 drivers in Tennessee were sober at the time of their DUI arrest, which is more than double the number the TBI previously reported, according to WSMV4.
This revelation highlights systemic issues within law enforcement practices and underscores the need for improved training and accountability measures to prevent wrongful arrests in the future.
