Trooper Faces New Legal Problems Over DUI Arrests

A Florida Highway Patrol trooper whose arrests already are under scrutinty faces a wrongful arrest lawsuit by a Sarasota man charged with DUI who turned out not to be impaired.

Trooper Melvin Arthur arrested Dominco L. Tollis in 2012 and charged him with DUI, though two blood tests and a urine test later showed no presence of alcohol or drugs, according to MySuncoast.com.

Arthur arrested Tollis after a three-car crash on Cattlemen Road that Tollis did not cause. Arthur said he charged Tollis with DUI, because he had bloodshot eyes and slurred his words, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

The wrongful arrest lawsuit comes after publicity over a similar arrest Arthur made of 52-year-old Sarasota artist Sally Adams. (See Woman Refuses Plea Bargain After Run-In With Trooper.)

The trooper arrested her for DUI, though tests later showed she was not impaired. A jury recently acquitted Adams of the DUI charge and of resisting arrest after she refused a plea bargain "on principle."

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