Sober man charged with DUI leads to investigation of officer who made arrest

POLK COUNTY, Ga. — A DUI arrest in Rockmart where evidence later proved the driver was not under the influence led police to look at other arrests from the same officer.

Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray learned the Peace Officer Standards & Training (POST) Council did not revoke Officer Thomas Jacob Maguire’s certification but put him on probation for a year. That means he can still work right now as a police officer.

“He says, ‘Well, we’re gonna do some field sobriety on you,’” said Allen Wehunt, recalling the night he was pulled over.

The field sobriety test was captured on dashcam video, but there was no sound because the Rockmart officer did not turn on his bodycam until he was back in his police cruiser.

“I’m a truck driver by trade, so I lose my license and a DUI, I’m out the door,” Wehunt said. “That could have just totally wiped out my livelihood.”

He said he was driving back from a memorial service that December night when he was arrested and charged with DUI.

“I said, ‘Well, let’s do a breathalyzer.’ (He said), ‘No, Rockmart don’t do breathalyzers anymore,’” Wehunt said.

But Rockmart Police Chief Randy Turner said there are always several breathalyzers on each shift.

Maguire, the arresting officer, resigned in lieu of termination from Rockmart police last year but was hired just seven days later at Tallapoosa Police Department.

Even before working in Rockmart, Maguire was terminated during training from the State Patrol.

He wrote on his Rockmart application that he had a lot of knowledge on DUIs.

Wehunt’s blood-alcohol test finally came back well below the legal limit. It turns out, so did several other DUI arrests by Maguire.

“It was months of sleepless nights worrying,” Wehunt said.

In a termination letter, Chief Turner wrote, “I find it appalling that we had citizens go to jail and they were not impaired and should not have been arrested.”

“I was trying to be as fair as possible,” McGuire said in response to questions on his arrests.

He spoke with Channel 2 by phone, saying he had forgotten to turn his bodycam on during Wehunt’s arrest.

He told a POST investigator that he stood by his decision to arrest in each case.

“I feel as if there needed to be police intervention, but maybe not everybody should have went to the jail,” he told Channel 2.

It cost Allen Wehunt more than $5,000 in attorney fees to fight a DUI charge that police investigators now say never should have happened.

“I support the police as long as they’re good cops, but I’m leery now,” Wehunt said.