Arresting Officer's "Mistake" Leads To Cop Getting Off Easy For DUI

PEARLAND, Texas – A Friendswood police officer was arrested for DWI, but then convicted of a much lesser charge earlier this month.

A viewer tipped KHOU 11 News off to the case, worried that the officer was getting special treatment. But Brazoria County prosecutors say it comes down to a paperwork mistake.

Pearland Police confronted Friendswood Officer Fred Cramer when they saw his motorcycle lying in the road, last October. Cramer admitted he had come from a nearby bar, but refused a field sobriety test. Officers then got a warrant to draw his blood.

The results: a BAC of .264, three times the legal limit.

Despite that, Brazoria County District Attorney Jeri Yenne said, “I did not have the evidence to get to a DWI conviction.”

That’s mainly because of one mistake.

“The search warrant never authorized the taking of Mr. Cramer’s blood, in fact it authorized the taking of someone else’s blood,” Yenne said.

The arresting officer accidentally put down his own name instead of Cramer’s.