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A single father, accused of drugged driving and brought under criminal investigation, was found innocent in further tests. And while the rapid roadside test proved faulty, Police claims such cases «extremely unlikely».
About 8:30 pm on January 24th, a traffic police special unit was into an Everybody Blows operation in Ringi Street, Maardu. Among others, car mechanic Mikhail Velichka (32) was ordered to a halt, in his ca 10 year old red Nissan Primera. The minutes afterward stated that his manner of driving seemed suspicious. «I drove at a normal speed. From far away, I saw signs of police operation, slowed down,» recalls the man.
Mr Velichka, with no criminal record, was having a difficult time in his life. In December, his wife suddenly passed away. The man is raising two children, all by himself – a 15 and a 5 year old. The younger girl being sick that day, Lasnamäe-dwelling Mr Velichka took a ride to Maardu, getting some medicine from his sister. Then, he was stopped.
According to alcoholometer, all was OK. A police officer put his torch-light into his face and asked why his eyes glistened. «Whose eyes wouldn’t, after a tiring day, driving down a poorly lit dark street, hardly seeing the signs?» wondered Mr Velichka.
That answer satisfied not the police officer. The man was ordered into the nearby parking lot, car and all. Heart rate and blood pressure were measured, thrice in a row. Pressure’s suspiciously high, stated the officers.
Mikhail explained that, right now, he’s in mourning, experiencing grief. The policemen offered to have a drug test taken. «I didn’t hesitate to agree, no problem,» said the man, always one to oppose use of drugs.
He exited the car, and, in minus 13 Co, had a saliva sample taken from his mouth. Thereafter, Mr Velichka went to wait in his vehicle, the policemen heading off to analyse the test in their van. About 20 minutes later, they returned with handcuffs.
The test had revealed traces of amphetamine use. «They told me I was under arrest. I was in shock,» the man says. Policemen asked for his home address, so a social worker could go and get the children, to be put to social care institution.
«A heavy mental blow to the kids – you lose mama, father’s arrested for drug use, them taken to a children’s home,» says the man. Therefore, he refused to reveal his home address. «The elder is perfectly able to take care of the younger. I thought it best not to traumatise the children.»
Ms Velichka’s reports were completed by police officer Mirjam Männamaa, Estonia’s most famous «motorised cop», who not long ago was herself forced to fight allegations of being drunk upon suffering an accident while securing a bicycle race. It was later discovered that the test showed intoxication due to a painkiller containing ethanol, given to the severely injured Ms Männamaa in emergency medical care.
As Mr Velichka demanded a new and more thorough test, they headed to Wismari Hospital in central Tallinn, where a urine test was taken. «The results, they told me, would come in two weeks. However, now you go to detention house, to wait there until questioned by investigators,» tells the man. «They treated me like a hardened drug addict. To my questions, they retorted in think-before-driving-while-drugged style.»
It was only at 4 pm the next day that Ms Velichka was able to talk to an investigator. During interrogation, a ruling on commencement of criminal procedure was formalised, after which he was released against signature.
After having waited for almost a month, Mr Velichka decided, on February 20th, to inquire from Police how the Wismari urine test was. «They told me the investigation was discontinued, as nothing was found in my tests. I asked where the documental evidence was; they told me the prosecutor had it.»
Right now, district prosecutor’s office is dealing with formalities of closing the criminal case. Mr Velichka says he is not intending to mess with the police about what happened. However, he still desires to point the problem out. «Because, possibly, there are others yet, who, due to such deficient drug tests, have come under investigation, and have just not dared to talk about it,» he says.
The incident has caused quite a stir in police. According to Toomas Villo, who imports the drugs testers used by Traffic Police, he has thoroughly discussed the incident with producers based in Sweden. «The appliance errs not; human factor must be involved here. I don’t want to blame anybody, but the urine test might have been clean if, fresh after consumption, amphetamine had simply not been able to sediment into the person’s urine yet,» guesses Mr Villo.
Mr Velichka categorically refutes this. «I may get drunk, when stressed. However, I don’t use drugs,» says he.
«Another way to explain this: maybe, when the test was taken, the person had too much sugar in his mouth. A single candy won’t trick the appliance. A mouthful of chocolate, however, may cause anomaly,» meditates Mr Villo. That, also, is dismissed by Mr Velichka. «I didn’t eat anything sweet. Didn’t take any medicine. That talk’s strange.»