Tiger Woods DUI

[Turtle]

Tiger Woods was arrested for impaired driving. A breath blood alcohol test administered showed no signs that Woods had alcohol in his system, although he failed a field sobriety test after his vehicle was found “stopped on the roadway at 2:03 a.m. Monday in the right-hand lane and right shoulder” in Jupiter, Fla. Woods was cited for improper parking, along with the driving under the influence citation. "Woods was asleep at the wheel and had to be woken up," said in the police report. "The vehicle was running and the brake lights were illuminated as well as the right blinker flashing."

That's hardly Breaking Soapbox News, but I post all of that so that I can post this comment...

"Woods couldn't complete several tasks during the field sobriety test, including reciting the national anthem backwards."

Francis Scott Key couldn't do that stone-cold sober. If Woods could do that, it would be far more impressive than anything he's ever done on a gold course.

But I post that as an example of the Cracker Jack FAKE NEWS reporting of A.J. Perez of USA Today Sports. I am of the opinion that sports reporters should be limited to reporting box scores and what all happens on the field of play, because they can't seem to be able to read a simple police report. Even ESPN's Jason Sobel, who Tweeted the police report, had initially reported that Woods refused to take a breath blood alcohol test, despite the police report that he had already Tweeted plainly stating that the officer requested a breath test, which was agreed to, and showed a BAC level of 0,00, and also requested a urine test, which was also agreed to.

The reality is, the officer asked Woods if he knew what the Romberg Alphabet test was, and Woods, answered, "yes, recite entire national anthem backwards." But after several times of explaining instructions, the police report says he he completed the task correctly. (The Romberg Alphabet test is simply reciting the alphabet like normal, from the beginning, in a non-singing, non rhythmic/rhyming way from A to Z).

But that ridiculous " couldn't complete several tasks during the field sobriety test, including reciting the national anthem backwards," stuff got picked up, taken at face value, and was repeated ad nauseum all over the real news media and the Internet.

 

[muttly]

The 'news' report I read yesterday described him as 'arrogant'. It also said he refused a breath test( for alcohol).
I thought that meant he refused the initial breath test at the scene and then took a Breathalyzer later at the station.(which he passed)
But this is funny from the Daily Mail. It says he DID recite the National Anthem backwards. One heck of a task.
Here is an article that described him as 'arrogant'. And also said he refused Breathalyzer. https://www.google.com/amp/nypost.com/2017/05/29/tiger-woods-arrested-for-dui-in-florida/amp/
It looks like the Post used some inaccurate information given to TMZ.
TMZ

 

[Turtle]

The NY Post article appears to take a few things from TMZ (which TMZ clearly made up) and then embellished it further. TMZ posted an update which blames the police for falsely telling TMZ that Woods had alcohol in his system. Because the police like to play pranks like that. TMZ (and the Post) are still sticking by their story that Woods was pulled over when seen driving "erratically, all over the road." And the Post is also sticking by it's reporting that police smelled booze on Woods.

This is a simple story that is told right there in the police report. And they can't even get that right. It astonishes me that anyone believes even half of what gets reported in the media.

 

[muttly]

One other thing. Officers discovered him in his car around 2:am. The Breathalyzer wasn't administered until 4:30am. Ample time for a significant amount of alcohol to leave his body. It's possible he may have had some drinks as well that further impaired him along with the drugs in his system.

 

[muttly]

The NY Post article appears to take a few things from TMZ (which TMZ clearly made up) and then embellished it further. TMZ posted an update which blames the police for falsely telling TMZ that Woods had alcohol in his system. Because the police like to play pranks like that. TMZ (and the Post) are still sticking by their story that Woods was pulled over when seen driving "erratically, all over the road." And the Post is also sticking by it's reporting that police smelled booze on Woods.

This is a simple story that is told right there in the police report. And they can't even get that right. It astonishes me that anyone believes even half of what gets reported in the media.

I'm just curious that if the initial refusal to take the preliminary breath test is being covered up. That is an automatic suspended license for doing so I think.

 

[Turtle]

I'm just curious that if the initial refusal to take the preliminary breath test is being covered up. That is an automatic suspended license for doing so I think.

There you go, believing half of what you read again. There is no evidence that he initially refused to take the breath test. Why would the police cover something like that up? A cover up is inconsistent with the level of detail in the police report.

One other thing. Officers discovered him in his car around 2:am. The Breathalyzer wasn't administered until 4:30am. Ample time for a significant amount of alcohol to leave his body. It's possible he may have had some drinks as well that further impaired him along with the drugs in his system.

Possible, but the urine test would catch it. A urine test can come back positive for up to 80 hours after a single drink. And to go from one drink (0.015 BAC) to a 0.000 BAC level takes a minimum of 2 hours and 20 minutes.

 

[muttly]

I'm just curious that if the initial refusal to take the preliminary breath test is being covered up. That is an automatic suspended license for doing so I think.

There you go, believing half of what you read again. There is no evidence that he initially refused to take the breath test. Why would the police cover something like that up? A cover up is inconsistent with the level of detail in the police report.

One other thing. Officers discovered him in his car around 2:am. The Breathalyzer wasn't administered until 4:30am. Ample time for a significant amount of alcohol to leave his body. It's possible he may have had some drinks as well that further impaired him along with the drugs in his system.

Possible, but the urine test would catch it. A urine test can come back positive for up to 80 hours after a single drink. And to go from one drink (0.015 BAC) to a 0.000 BAC level takes a minimum of 2 hours and 20 minutes.

Then what was the result of the preliminary breath test? It should be in the report.
I'll discuss more later sorry.

 

[muttly]

I'm just curious that if the initial refusal to take the preliminary breath test is being covered up. That is an automatic suspended license for doing so I think.

There you go, believing half of what you read again. There is no evidence that he initially refused to take the breath test. Why would the police cover something like that up? A cover up is inconsistent with the level of detail in the police report.

One other thing. Officers discovered him in his car around 2:am. The Breathalyzer wasn't administered until 4:30am. Ample time for a significant amount of alcohol to leave his body. It's possible he may have had some drinks as well that further impaired him along with the drugs in his system.

Possible, but the urine test would catch it. A urine test can come back positive for up to 80 hours after a single drink. And to go from one drink (0.015 BAC) to a 0.000 BAC level takes a minimum of 2 hours and 20 minutes.

To give him a break. It does happen. Refusing to take a breath test at the scene is an automatic suspension of his license. Given the failed sobriety tests that he did, the damaged vehicle, his slurred speech, as well as the dilated pupils,an officer would have been alerted to give him the breath test as well. But it isn't in the report that they requested it. TMZ is usually pretty good with their reporting. They haven't retracted their story about refusing the breath test or being arrogant per their source. They just added on their site that the Police report differs from it. They could have asked him to take one and he refused. After about two and half hours he's clean on the alcohol test, they then decide to omit the initial refusal from the report, so as not to have his license suspended.
Notice in the comments from Tiger that he emphasized that alcohol played no role in the incident. Like it is very important that everyone know that alcohol wasn't involved. Ok, like it makes it so much more harmless that he just mixed up too many pills by accident instead of deciding to have some drinks along with it.
There is probably some downside in having alcohol involved along with this story. It indicates being reckless by taking alcohol in addition to his prescribed medications. Instead of innocently mixing too many pills.

 

[Turtle]

Then what was the result of the preliminary breath test? It should be in the report.

There as no breath test at the scene. Woods was give a standard field sobriety test (SFST - finger to nose, walk heel to toe, Romberg Alphabet test, etc.) and based on his dismal performance of the SFSTs and his responses to questions, instructions, and his general out-of-it-ness, the officer believed he had probable cause to make an arrest and charge Woods with DUI, no breath test necessary.

He was placed under arrest, handcuffed, put in the back seat of the police car, and was then later transported to the BAT (Blood Alcohol Test) vehicle (kind of like a gnarly RV) where the breath and urine tests were performed. Both breath tests showed 0.000 BAC.

Incidentally, after Woods had the instructions for the Romberg Alphabet test instructions explained to him (recite the alphabet without singing it), Woods indicated that he understood the instructions. The officer then asked Woods what those instructions were, to which Woods replied, "not to sing the national anthem backwards." Which is hilarious.

They could have asked him to take one and he refused. After about two and half hours he's clean on the alcohol test, they then decide to omit the initial refusal from the report, so as not to have his license suspended.

Yes, they could have. Not likely, though. But if you want to believe that members of the the Jupiter Police Department conspired to prevent Woods from losing his license, maybe because they think he can't afford an Uber, then by all means, you're an adult and you can believe what you want.

Notice in the comments from Tiger that he emphasized that alcohol played no role in the incident. Like it is very important that everyone know that alcohol wasn't involved.

Well, yeah, when people hear DUI, they automatically think "drunk driving." If alcohol wasn't involved, it makes perfect sense to let people know that an intentionally stupid and reckless decision wasn't made by Woods.

Ok, like it makes it so much more harmless that he just mixed up too many pills by accident instead of deciding to have some drinks along with it.

Well, the first part of that sentence, it absolutely makes it harmless that he mixed up too many pills (or had an unexpected reaction to them), because there's no ill-intent there. The second half of your sentence, you just made that up without any evidence to back it up. That's pretty stretchy even for Internet Conspiracies.

There is probably some downside in having alcohol involved along with this story. It indicates being reckless by taking alcohol in addition to his prescribed medications. Instead the innocently mixing too many pills.

Exactly. But the police have no motivation to obscure any downside to this incident.

 

[muttly]

Ok, given all of that then TMZ apparently got it wrrroong. Tiger wasn't arrogant, he was cooperative. Instead of smelling like booze, there was no odor. Instead of refusing a preliminary breath test, it wasn't even requested of him. And instead of being observed driving all over the road, he was discovered asleep on the side of the road.
A little surprised if TMZ screwed the pooch on this story.

Well Jack Nicklaus thinks he needs help.
But if it was just a 'bad reaction' to his doctor prescribed medications then why would he need help?

 

[muttly]

[/QUOTE]Exactly. But the police have no motivation to obscure any downside to this incident.[/QUOTE]
Possibly. But sometimes officers will cut some slack on an incident to minimize the impact to an individual. Especially if the incident only involves a single car and nobody else is hurt by the person's actions.
He already damaged his expensive vehicle and was still being charged with a DUI.
Being a well known public figure may have helped him too. Sometimes they get special treatment. There was an incident in the Detroit area a few years ago when a pro athlete smashed his vehicle into a divider wall reaching for a pizza. A witness said he appeared drunk. The police were summoned to the scene. No ticket was issued and police said alcohol wasn't involved.
TMZ

 

[Turtle]

Ok, given all of that then TMZ apparently got it wrrroong.

Wouldn't be the first time. Remember in 2009 when TMZ published a photograph, which it said was taken in the mid-1950s, that supposedly showed JFK romping around on a yacht with four topless women? They noted that, "Had the photo surfaced when John F. Kennedy ran for President in 1960, it could have torpedoed his run, and changed world history." They had the photograph examined by multiple experts, all of whom said there was no evidence of Photoshop and that the photo appeared to be authentic. Turns out, the reason it was authentic is because it was an authentic photograph taken by Playboy magazine in 1967 as part of a photo shoot titled “Playboy’s Charter Yacht Party: How to Have a Ball on the Briny with an Able-Bodied Complement of Ship’s Belles.” JFK was long, long dead and buried by the time of the yacht party in 1967. Whoops.

TMZ gets a lot of breaking news right, but only about 90% of it. Which is why no major news outlet will take unconfirmed TMZ news as factual at face value, the same way they would AP or Reuters or even CNN. CNN on their worst day will still get about 99% of breaking news right (actual breaking news, not the kind of breaking news that Don Lemon bought a new bow tie). 90% is good for a tabloid, but not good enough to trust beyond tabloid journalism.

I have a good friend who is an actress in Hollywood (an Oscar winner, and more and more with each passing day, has become a stone-cold wacko progressive liberal that sometimes makes me so mad I could body slam her). I've known her since about 1992. TMZ has run stories about her, all sourced by unnamed sources but always "those close to her" or "someone with knowledge of the situation" where she is pregnant, dating somebody, about to break up with somebody, is feuding with someone, is best friends with someone, turned down this or that role, adopted one of her children from Africa, was rude to the girl who washed her hair, and plenty of others. Not a single one of them is true.

There's not a lot of people who are at a place where they can perceive TMZ as a totally legit news operation (present company excluded, obviously). Plus, TMZ pays for stories, which is not an accepted practice in journalism, because while it gets you some gnarly scoops, it destroys your credibility. AND, in addition to not naming its sources, TMZ’s stories don’t carry bylines, making it virtually impossible to assess the reliability and track record of its journalists. Aside from Harvey Levin, I don’t know of a specific individual who reports for TMZ.

Most of the site’s stories are the most bottom-feeding kind of gossip as it is. While they’ve had a lot of success pursuing that, it does not inspire any news organizations to say, "Let’s pick this up! TMZ is a lock!"

If TMZ reports it, sure, take a look, but proceed with caution, because while it may contain some truth, you can bet they're missing a lot of it.

Tiger wasn't arrogant, he was cooperative. Instead of smelling like booze, there was no odor. Instead of refusing a preliminary breath test, it wasn't even requested of him. And instead of being observed driving all over the road, he was discovered asleep on the side of the road.

That's pretty much what TMZ has updated their reporting to be, yes. And the officer's dash cam clearly showed the car being discovered on the side of the road, rather than being pulled over for erratic driving.

A little surprised if TMZ screwed the pooch on this story.

They didn't screw the pooch, but they fingered it a little. Same as a lot of their reporting. TMZ famously was the first to report on the death of Prince. But no one (other than Internet blogs) took that story and ran with it. They got a few of the details wrong in their haste (or in desperately trying to fill in the blanks). Their "exclusive" scoop referred to “multiple sources” but none by name. The AP later broke the story with a named source, Prince's publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure, who confirmed the singer’s death and gave a few on-the-record details that TMZ had gotten wrong.

Well Jack Nicklaus thinks he needs help.
But if it was just a 'bad reaction' to his doctor prescribed medications then why would he need help?

Why wouldn't he need help? He's had four recent back surgeries and ankle surgeries and he has to take

Nicklaus said, "I feel bad for Tiger. Tiger's a friend. He's been great for the game of golf. He needs our help. I wish him well."

That's hardly a full-throated display of haughty derision towards someone with a drinking problem.

Armchair diagnosing Tiger Woods with any kind of alcohol or drug addiction isn't virtuous. It's TMZ. It's Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

There is a case to be made that Woods has succumbed, as so many young prodigies do, to the temptations and warped ego that come along with fame and wealth. It could very well be that Woods’ arrest Monday represents a continuation of the same quasi self-destructive behavior that began roughly 7 years ago that has so far claimed his marriage, millions of his dollars, some of the tissue inside his body, his golf game, and now, his clean arrest record, and he has transferred from one dopamine-releasing activity (his famous sex "addiction" for which he entered rehab) to another addiction (prescription drugs and/or alcohol). Or, it could be that he was simply telling the truth when he said he had an unexpected reaction to the medications he takes for his various injuries and, despite whatever other problems he might be facing, is not abusing any substances. Unless you know Tiger personally, or are trained in addiction medicine, you can't armchair it.

 

[Turtle]

Exactly. But the police have no motivation to obscure any downside to this incident.

Possibly. But sometimes officers will cut some slack on an incident to minimize the impact to an individual. Especially if the incident only involves a single car and nobody else is hurt by the person's actions.

Sometimes...Especially.... but what's your evidence for the police doing this in Wood's case? TMZ's stellar reporting record?

He already damaged his expensive vehicle and was still being charged with a DUI. Being a well known public figure may have helped him too. Sometimes they get special treatment. There was an incident in the Detroit area a few years ago when a pro athlete smashed his vehicle into a divider wall reaching for a pizza. A witness said he appeared drunk. The police were summoned to the scene. No ticket was issued and police said alcohol wasn't involved.
TMZ

Ah, so your evidence is rationalization to bolster an unsubstantiated belief. Got it.

Like I said, you're an adult. Believe what you want. Just don't try to convince me of the same belief without showing me the evidence.

 

[skyraider]

This just in: Woods has just been admitted to the Concubine Rehab and Re-education Center to help him in his addictions..................

 

[muttly]

Jack Nicklaus saying he needs help is referring to more than just his back surgeries and getting back on the links. Sports figures and analysts have commented that there very well be more at play here than just a 'bad reaction' to medication. They are concerned that he at least has a drug problem. Comments like 'fall from grace', 'he hit rock bottom'.
Not according to Tiger. He just 'accidently' mixed and matched too many medications. Anyone can do it innocently. Any adult can do that too.

 

[muttly]

This just in: Woods has just been admitted to the Concubine Rehab and Re-education Center to help him in his addictions..................

Why would he have to go through all of that?
According to his statement he said it was just an unexpected reaction to a mix of his medications. I presumed he was being honest when said that.

 

[muttly]

It's not that TMZ supposedly got one of their facts wrong. It appears that they got multiple facts wrong. Like the complete opposite of what may have actually happened. It's just a little weird that they could be so completely inaccurate in their story. Other news entities initially picked up their story linking to them directly or via the NY Post so they are at least considered reputable.

 

[Turtle]

Jack Nicklaus saying he needs help is referring to more than just his back surgeries and getting back on the links. Sports figures and analysts have commented that there very well be more at play here than just a 'bad reaction' to medication. They are concerned that he at least has a drug problem. Comments like 'fall from grace', 'he hit rock bottom'.

Like I said earlier, he may very well have a drug problem, or an alcohol problem, or both. I don't know. But keep in mind that at least two of those sports analysts said that Woods managed to successfully recite the national anthem backwards, so you may want to take their medical diagnoses with a grain of salt.

Not according to Tiger. He just 'accidently' mixed and matched too many medications. Anyone can do it innocently. Any adult can do that too.

He may very well have accidentally mixed and matched too many medications, but that's not what he said. He said that he had an unexpected reaction to the medications that he was prescribed, and that he didn't realize that the prescribed mix of medications had affected him so strongly.

We don't even know for sure what he was prescribed or what he had taken (because he was totally out of it, didn't know where he was, and told the police that he was on his way from Los Angeles down to Orange County, both of which are in California. He gave the police the names of medications, one of which he hasn't taken since it was removed from the market more than 10 years ago (Vioxx), and another one that is either "Soloxex" which the police, the DEA nor the FDA has ever heard of, or it's Solarex (hard to tell by the handwriting of the reporting officer), which is an active ingredient in sunscreen because it absorbs UV-A ultraviolet rays. But said he had taken Vicodin, an opioid painkiller, mixed with Torix, an anti-inflammatory NSAID medication, along with the possibly Solarex.

One of the common side effects of Torix is feeling dizzy or tired. The most common side effects of Solarex are dizziness, drowsiness and fatigue, and it is not to be taken and then operate heavy machinery or drive. Vicodin is one that you definitely shouldn't be driving while taking, as it has the same side effects only more severe. Since all of those medications are prescription, it's unlikely that he accidentally mixed and matched too many of them, but it's entirely probable that he didn't realize that he was so strongly affected by them (especially if he hadn't eaten anything within the previous 5 hours). Then again, he was so out of it that he could have double or triple dosed any of them along the way during the night.

 

[Turtle]

This just in: Woods has just been admitted to the Concubine Rehab and Re-education Center to help him in his addictions..................

Why would he have to go through all of that?
According to his statement he said it was just an unexpected reaction to a mix of his medications. I presumed he was being honest when said that.

The word "concubine" should be your first clue as to the comedy and sarcasm of the name of the rehab center. Remember, he had earlier gone to a rehab clinic for his sex addiction.

 

[muttly]

This just in: Woods has just been admitted to the Concubine Rehab and Re-education Center to help him in his addictions..................

Why would he have to go through all of that?
According to his statement he said it was just an unexpected reaction to a mix of his medications. I presumed he was being honest when said that.

The word "concubine" should be your first clue as to the comedy and sarcasm of the name of the rehab center. Remember, he had earlier gone to a rehab clinic for his sex addiction.

Oops. I need to fresh up on my vocabulary. It went right over my head.