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Arresting Officer Says Purtill Passed Out in Cruiser

Police Constable Darcy Campbell says there were several signs Bonita Purtill was impaired by alcohol after the truck she was driving crashed into a car on the night of October 13th, 2008. Campbell says he approached Purtill at the scene and asked her to show her drivers' license, insurance and registration for the truck. He says she didn't respond at first, despite the fact that he was standing 5-feet infront of her. Campbell told the jury Purtill was having coordination issues getting it out of her purse. In fact, she spilled several cards out of a card holder. Campbell says Purtill took a minute to pick up the cards and handed him a TD Bank card. She grabbed it back, and gave him the license. Campbell asked her to accompany him to his cruiser, and he says she stumbled and almost tripped over fire hoses that were laying across the roadway. When he sat her in his truck, he detected the smell of alcohol on her breath. That's when Campbell says he placed her under arrest for impaired driving. Just a few minutes after placing her under arrest, handcuffing her and reading her her rights, he says Purtill's head disappeared from view through the cruiser's windows. He says she ended up falling asleep across the back seat of his cruiser minutes later, and when he opened the door he says "my car smelled like an alcoholic beverage". He woke Purtill up, and helped her get back to a seated position, and she complained of a sore neck. He drove Purtill to the Woodstock Hospital for treatment. At the hospital, Campbell told the court he only left Purtill alone to change and to make a phone call to a lawyer. The court heard Purtill was asked several times to provide a breath sample to Constable Trevor Lamb, a trained breathalyzer technician. Purtill refused and never gave a sample saying "I refuse, I will not blow into that machine without my lawyer." Officer Campbell re-read Purtill her rights for not giving the sample to that she said "Fine arrest me then." During cross examination, Campbell told the court he was a father of a 5-month-old baby at the time of the incident. He told the defence he asked Purtill numerous times for her license ownership of the truck and her insurance. It was after leading Purtill to his police cruiser that he smelled alcohol on her breath, and that she was wobbling while she walked. Based on those determinations, Campbell did not administer a roadside breathalyzer, nor did he request any field sobriety tests. The defence concluded he could have asked for a roadside breathalyzer. This turned into a heated exchange where the officer said multiple times he didn't see the need based on observations. Campbell also denied saying to Purtill: "Your a rich bitch that needs to be taken down." He also claimed he didn't take the collision personal based on the fact he had a child close to the same age as Alex Fleming. The last witness of the day was officer Sean Kelly. He told the court he had helped set up the breathalyzer test with officer Lamb. Kelly told the court Purtill smelled of alcohol, had watery bloodshot eyes, and was unstable on her feet. He told the court she refused the breathalyzer three times, and even asked about where her truck was. He told Purtill it had been towed and people had been hurt in an accident, he claims Purtill was still just worried about her truck. During cross examination it was determined the officer didn't make any official notes until after leaving the hospital. It was also determined that officer Kelly's attention was more focused on helping setup the breathalyzer test, not Purtill. The trial resumes on Monday. Purtill is charged with impaired driving and criminal negligence causing the death of 4-month-old Alexander Fleming. Impaired driving and criminal negligence causing bodily harm to Mary Rodrigues and two counts of refusing to provide a breath sample.

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