Ex-cop caught driving with record blood alcohol level

[BP]

REDMOND, Wash. - A woman who was pulled over on suspicion of DUI turned out to have a blood-alcohol level that was six times greater than the legal limit, police said. And KOMO 4 News has confirmed through court documents that the woman used to be a Seattle police officer.

Redmond police pulled over Deana Francine Jarrett on April 10th. She refused a breathalyzer test. She was booked into jail and released the next day.

Later that day at 3:48 p.m., Jarrett rear-ended another car in the eastbound lanes of 520 at Redmond Way. Police said she tried to convince the driver not to call police then drove away, only to run into a second car.

State troopers caught up to Jarrett and found her car littered with open vodka and beer containers. Troopers said Jarrett couldn't even stand up.

"She was unable to exit the car on her own," said Trooper Jeff Merrill. "She couldn't walk. She was just too intoxicated."

Troopers said Jarrett couldn't even manage to take a field sobriety test. They did get her to blow into a portable breathalyzer.

"It only takes a small puff of air," Merrill said.

Troopers said the number was one they'd never seen before - 0.47, which is six times the legal limit of 0.08. Troopers said that number is a new record high.

"We simply don't get people that impaired," Merrill said. "It takes years and years of continual drinking to build up a tolerance to be able to withstand that sort of intoxication level."

Sources tell KOMO News that Jarrett's blood alcohol level proved to be even higher when she was given a blood test at Evergreen Hospital.

Court documents show that Deana Francine Jarrett was formerly known as Deana Francine Karst, a former Seattle police officer who sued the city for sexual harassment back in 1996.

At her home in Woodinville on Wednesday night, the 1997 Saab she was driving the day of her arrest was parked outside, but no one answered the door.

Jarrett was released on $500 bail.

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$500 bail?

You would get strung up in NJ for that.

[ECURB]

.47 ???

She must be a BIG drinker...

Unless a person has developed a high tolerance, a BAC rating of 0.20 represents very serious intoxication (most first-time drinkers would be passed out by about 0.15), and 0.35 represents potentially fatal alcohol poisoning. 0.40 is the accepted LD50, or lethal dose for 50% of adult humans. For a long-time, heavy drinker, those numbers can at least double. In extreme cases, individuals have survived BAC ratings as high as 0.914.