Iowa Cops Arrested a Sober College Student for Driving Intoxicated. His Lawsuit Is Moving Forward.
An Iowa college student was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, even though he showed no physical signs of intoxication and a breathalyzer test showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.00. The man has now sued the officer who falsely arrested him—and as part of a lengthy legal battle, a federal court has ruled that the case can go forward.
In August 2022, 19-year-old Tayvin Galanakis was driving late at night in Newton, Iowa, when he was pulled over by local police officers Nathan Winters and Christopher Wing. According to body camera footage, Winters almost immediately began interrogating Galanakis about his alcohol consumption.
When Galanakis denies drinking, Winters replied "What do you mean none?" In response, Galanakis suggested that he take a breathalyzer test. However, Winters instead subjected Galanakis to a series of field sobriety tests. While Galanakis appears sober, Winters claims he failed the tests. Finally, Winters gives Galankis a breathalyzer test that shows that Galanakis is completely sober. But instead of letting Galankis go, Winters then shifted to quizzing Galanakis about how much marijuana he had smoked.
"I've had no weed tonight," Galanakis told Winters. "I blew a zero so now you're trying to think I smoked weed? That's what's going on. You can't do that, man. You really can't do that."
Galanakis was arrested and taken to a local police station, where he underwent further drug testing, all of which came back negative. Soon after his arrest, Galanakis published body camera footage from the incident. The lightly edited footage sparked intense backlash online and eventually gained more than 2 million views on YouTube.
Galanakis filed a lawsuit in February 2023, claiming that the officers wrongfully arrested him and that their actions amounted to a "gross disregard of Tayvin's civil rights." However, soon after, Winters and Wing filed a countersuit, alleging that some claims Galankis made online following the incident were defamatory.
Last week, a federal judge ruled that Galanakis' case could go forward, finding that a reasonable juror "could conclude that Winters violated Galanakis's clearly established constitutional rights."
Judge Stephen H. Locher found that Winters had no probable cause to arrest Galanakis because his "speech and movements were not even remotely consistent with someone under the influence of a controlled substance." Adding, "Galanakis insisted almost from the first moment that he wanted to blow into a breathalyzer, which would be a remarkable act of bravado for someone under the influence."
However, the ruling isn't a complete victory for Galanakis. Locher found that Galanakis' comments that Winters "is on the slow side of the spectrum" and "is not fit mentally for the job and physically" weren't defamatory. However, Locher did find that Winters could continue suing Galanakis for defamation over Galanakis' comment that Winters was "convicted" of domestic abuse. While Winters' ex-girlfriend received a domestic abuse restraining order and submitted an affidavit alleging abuse, Winters has never been charged, much less convicted of domestic abuse.
Tayvin Galanakis isn't the first person to be wrongfully arrested because of a false DUI claim. In 2020, a Colorado man won a $400,000 settlement after he was arrested for driving while intoxicated, even though tests showed he was completely sober.
*CORRECTION: The original version of this story misstated the name of the federal judge who made last week's ruling.
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