You must use every defense strategy to fight back if you’ve been arrested for DUI in Virginia. The police officer’s dashcam and body cam footage could be a crucial piece of evidence that our experienced Virginia DWI and DUI defense lawyers at the Wilson Law Firm will use when presenting your case. In this article, we explain how this approach can help us develop an aggressive defense strategy for you.
What Is Dashcam and Body Cam Footage? 
Dashcams are small cameras mounted on the police vehicle’s dashboard. Officers also wear a body cam that, along with a dashcam, records audio and visual footage of what occurs when someone is stopped and arrested for DUI.
If you’re stopped for DUI, you must be aware that your actions are likely being recorded. It can be used as evidence against you by the prosecutor to convict you of DUI under Virginia Code § 18.2-266 if you don’t cooperate with the police officer’s requests, have slurred speech, or exhibit other signs of intoxication.
How Our DUI Defense Lawyers Can Use Dashcam and Body Cam Footage to Defend You
Our DUI defense lawyers know that traffic and body cam footage can also help us defend you. Our legal team will quickly obtain all the footage, which may include recordings from multiple officers’ body cams, from the prosecutor and analyze it carefully. Here are ways we can use this evidence in your case:
- Show problems with the footage. Dashcam and body camera footage may record a DUI arrest from only one view. In addition, the audio and video quality might be poor. If the prosecutor is using this footage in their case against you, we may be able to raise doubts about its accuracy if there are obvious problems with it.
- Challenge the officer’s statements. The arresting officer’s observations can play a key role in the prosecutor’s case against you. We may be able to question the accuracy of their version of what occurred and their conclusions based on the dashcam and body cam footage of your arrest. For example, they may claim you had slurred speech or bloodshot eyes, which led them to conclude you may have been intoxicated. We may be able to show video footage proving they were wrong.
- Dispute your field sobriety test results. We might also use dashcam and body cam footage to challenge the test results. The recording could show that the officer failed to ask you if you were taking medications or had a health condition that would interfere with your ability to perform the test. The footage might also prove law enforcement didn’t correctly perform the tests.
- Prove violations of your constitutional rights. If you watch or read the news, you know that the police make mistakes and violate peoples’ legal rights when making traffic stops all the time. Dashcam and body cam footage may show that the officer continued questioning you after you told them you wanted to remain silent or requested an attorney, or that they didn’t have probable cause to search your car without a search warrant. It could also show them using excessive force—which is sadly common—when arresting you.