Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, December 20, 1993 TAG: 9312200016
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Eileen DeGraff, 39, of Silver Spring, Md., was stopped by two officers in the Georgetown area at about 2:45 a.m. Saturday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
DeGraff, a graphic designer, told The Washington Post she was forced to sit on the ground in near-freezing temperatures for almost 20 minutes after being pulled over. The handcuffs chained the woman to a leg of the mailbox.
DeGraff could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Police Chief Fred Thomas ordered the investigation into the arrest by officers Edward Ford and Ephraim Williams and plans to personally review the findings, according to a statement issued by the department Sunday.
A Post reporter happened by the scene, and an officer confiscated his camera and placed it in a police cruiser for a short period before returning it to him. The newspaper printed three photographs of the incident on its front page Sunday.
Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. called on police officials to investigate the interference with reporter Brian Mooar and said he hopes to meet with the police chief today.
If true, both the handcuffing of the woman to a stationary object and the confrontation with Mooar, who had a police-issued press pass, violate police department policy, police spokesman Lt. Beverly Alford told the Post.
Ford, 36, is a three-year veteran and Williams, 30, has been with the department for seven years, Alford said.
DeGraff told the Post that Ford and Williams at times stood near her car and laughed while she sat on the ground. She said she pleaded with the officers for an explanation.
She said she was pulled over after attending a Christmas party. The officers asked her if she had been drinking and ordered her out of her car when she said she had been out with friends, she said.
DeGraff said one of the officers told her she was being charged with drunken driving, even though she had not taken a Breathalyzer test.
The Post said a Breathalyzer test the woman later took at a police station showed her blood alcohol level at 0.16, well above the 0.10 level that is the threshold for a drunken-driving charge. She was released after being charged with driving while intoxicated.
by CNB