I Have Not Been Drinking – I Can Juggle!

     Seeing blue lights flashing in your rearview mirror and realizing that you are being pulled over is probably one of the more intimidating and scarier things that can happen in your everyday life. Your heart starts beating out of your chest and you may feel like you can not breathe. Most people are not sure how to act when a police officer pulls them over, especially if they have been drinking.

College Student Gets Pulled Over for Broken Brake Light

     These situations are often tense and serious, but one University of Arkansas college student turned what is typically a scary and solemn situation into one that ended up in laughter. The 21-year-old college student, Blayk Puckett, was driving about 25 miles northwest of Little Rock when he was pulled over by two police officers. They said he was driving slowly and one of his brake lights was broken. Michael Hopper, a UCA police spokesman, said that the officers agreed to give Puckett a warning, as they saw that he was sober fairly quickly. “I could tell pretty much from that initial contact, and no odor coming from the vehicle, that he was okay to drive,” said Sergeant Keith McKay, who was one of the officers at the scene.

Proving his Innocence

     Still, Puckett, with his license plates that say, “JUGGLER,” revealed to the officers he was a magician and offered to juggle for them as a testament to his sobriety. They allowed him to get his bowling pins out and Puckett handed one of the officers his cell phone to video tape his little magic show as he showed off his juggling skills. The video of his encounter with the police was viewed more than a million times. “I was juggling for a police officer. I mean you hear jokes about this stuff so of course I had to film it. I would have been silly not to,” the college student told the news. He also quipped that “this is the new sobriety test in Conway.”

Traffic Stops do Not Always End so Well

     Not all traffic stops – and certainly not all sobriety checks – go as well as this one did. In fact, most do not turn out as lighthearted as Blayk Puckett's did, with smiles and laughter and just a warning at the end of the stop. Some of the time, there is a ticket and a court date issued, and other times, the driver is hauled away in the back of the police car in handcuffs, to face charges.

     If you have been in an adversarial or otherwise not-so-positive encounter with the police in Mississippi, please do not hesitate to call the law office of James Robert Ferguson at (901) 318-3847 to speak with an experienced Mississippi DUI defense attorney. I understand that you have questions about your case, and I am here to help you. I will provide you with a free and confidential consultation regarding your case.