A Tulsa police officer spotted something unusual in a busy parking lot on August 21: a black Nissan Altima quickly swerving from side to side.
Police say the driver was stopped near 21st Street and Garnett Road around 9:51 p.m. Officers soon noticed another problem. The driver was a teenager who allegedly had bloodshot, watery eyes and seemed more interested in snacking and talking on his phone than answering their questions.
Then, as officers asked him to get out of the car, police say he shifted the Altima into drive.
Officers opened the driver’s door, pulled him from the seat, and put the car back in park. The encounter would eventually end with a 0.14 breath test and the discovery that the driver was only 16 years old.
Still In Drive
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According to the Tulsa Police Department’s account of the stop, the officer initially intervened because the Altima was being driven recklessly through the crowded parking lot.
Police said the driver had no identification and would not provide officers with accurate identifying information. He did, however, agree to take a breath test.
The result was 0.14.
Officers initially took the driver to the Tulsa County Jail, where they confirmed his identity and learned he was 16, according to police.
Zero Means Zero
For a driver that young, Oklahoma law does not require anything close to a 0.14 alcohol reading before consequences can begin.
The Oklahoma Highway Safety Office says drivers under 21 are subject to the state’s zero-tolerance law. A person under 21 can be considered to be driving under the influence when a test shows any measurable amount of alcohol in their blood or breath.
That makes the teenager’s age more than an unusual detail in the arrest. He was not simply below the standard legal drinking age. Oklahoma specifically prohibits under-21 drivers from operating a vehicle after drinking.
The state’s current driver manual also says a first zero-tolerance alcohol offense can result in a six-month driver’s license revocation.
In this case, police said the teenager did not have a driver’s license in the first place.
Not The Jail
After officers established his age, the teenager was taken to the Tulsa Area Community Intervention Center rather than remaining at the county jail.
That facility is not simply another name for juvenile detention.
Tulsa County describes the Community Intervention Center as a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week short-term facility where law enforcement officers can take arrested juveniles for processing and intervention.
Police said the 16-year-old was booked on allegations of DUI, obstructing an officer, resisting an officer, reckless driving, driving without a driver’s license, and having no proof of insurance.
Tulsa Police did not identify the teenager.
The department’s account also does not say who owned the Altima, where the teenager obtained alcohol, or whether any parent, guardian, or other person faces allegations connected to the incident.