Signs, Breathalyzer Score Didn't Match, Officer Says

The U.S. Secret Service officer who administered a breathalyzer test to D.C. Council member Marion Barry in September testified yesterday that she believes he was intoxicated, although the machine showed that he was not.

Marie Wadford, an officer for three years, said that the breathalyzer reading was valid but that Barry could not pass a field sobriety test, smelled of alcohol and had red eyes. Barry's test registered .02, far below the legal limit of .08.

"The .02 did not line up with what I saw with the field sobriety test," Wadford said.

Barry (D-Ward 8) and his attorney, Frederick D. Cooke Jr., said that Wadford's testimony strengthened their case.

"She testified the test was accurate," Barry said after yesterday's hearing. "It's going very well."

Cooke also said the government's case, due to resume today, was inconsistent.

"The only objective evidence is the breathalyzer, and that says he blew .02," Cooke said. "I don't know that that says beyond argument that he was intoxicated."

Wadford was one of three officers who testified during Barry's trial at D.C. Superior Court on several traffic charges, including driving under the influence, riding in an unregistered vehicle and misusing temporary tags. All the officers, including Ryan Montiero and Jarrod Cassetta, testified that Barry had bloodshot eyes, smelled strongly of alcohol, slurred his speech and was unsteady on his feet.

Cooke said any unsteadiness could be traced to medications Barry takes for diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, and bad knees that made it difficult for him to get out of the low-slung sports car.

The non-jury trial was assigned to Magistrate Judge Richard H. Ringell.

The charges stem from two separate incidents in which Barry was arrested while driving a 1995 Camaro.

The most serious charges stem from an incident Sept. 10, when Barry was pulled over by uniformed Secret Service officers near the White House after allegedly running a red light. Officers said he smelled of alcohol, and Barry was asked to take a breathalyzer test.

An initial test came in below the legal limit, but officers said they wanted to conduct a urine test for alcohol, Cooke said. Barry said he declined to provide a urine sample but was willing to take another breath test, which police chose not to administer.

The officers charged Barry with driving under the influence, which can be done when a driver refuses the urine test.

The second episode was Dec. 16, when Barry was stopped by U.S. Park Police officers in Southeast Washington for driving too slowly. Barry was charged with misuse of temporary tags and operating an unregistered vehicle.

In both incidents, Barry was driving a loaner vehicle while his car was being repaired. Cooke has said that Barry did not know that there was a problem with the registration of the vehicle and therefore did nothing wrong.

Barry earlier rejected an offer from prosecutors to plead guilty to operating a motor vehicle while impaired in the Sept. 10 traffic stop. Had he accepted the offer, prosecutors would have dropped the other charges in both of the cases.