One man had an interesting tactic after being arrested for a DUI. After throwing various insults at the officers, this driver decided to challenge police to a DUI spelling bee.
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DUI Spelling Bee: Police Really Do Deal With Everything
While I have heard a number of stories about drunk drivers, one who wants to participate in a spelling bee is a new one for me. Similarly, I imagine this was new for the officers as well. Richard Anthony Demato was arrested for driving under the influence.
The 41-year-old was found in a Walgreens parking lot. According to the NY Post he was found "near a red Grand Jeep Cherokee with a ruined right tire." His tire was ruined because he supposedly struck two cars prior to arriving in the parking lot.
While his DUI ultimately resulted in a spelling bee, it did not start off that way. According to officers, Demato was unkind at first. Calling the officer who was handling him an "idiot" and acting in a belligerent manner. He appeared unsteady and was slurring his speech. If the slurred speech wasn't enough to condemn him, Demato also reeked of alcohol and refused the field sobriety test.
After being placed under arrest, Demato's first tactic was aggression. He was directing obscenities towards the officers handling him and even threatened to harm an officer. Furthermore, when he was taken to the hospital to be medically cleared for jail, he screamed at staff there as well.
Time To Switch Things Up
I guess somewhere in his intoxicated mind, Demato realized that his aggression was getting him no where fast, so he switched tactics. Instead of continuing to threaten the officer he challenged him to a DUI spelling bee. The driver wanted to play a game and challenged the officer to spell out the word "Britain."
I am not quite sure what his ploy was here. Perhaps he was hoping to make the cop seem like the idiot Demato thought he was. Or perhaps he was hopeful that if he could correctly spell the word, the officer would release him. He could also have just wanted to make his ride to prison more exciting. Or, my favorite plausibility, perhaps he was a spelling bee champ as a child and wanted to re-live his glory days.
Alas, the world may never know the inner workings of the drunk mind and what truly prompted the DUI spelling bee. In all honesty, I don't think the officer in question cares either. Regardless of the reason for the challenge, it did not help Demato's case.
He is "facing charges of first-degree DUI, hit and run with property damage, and assaulting or resisting a police officer." The last charge is due to an instance where he is accused of kicking an officer in the arm. If I was the officer I would have been petty, and responded to the challenge by saying. "No, but can you spell Jail...J...A...I...L, because that is where you are going."
Demato was convicted but was later released on nearly a $16,000 bail.
