By admin 
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (KUSA) – A military veteran received a $500,000 settlement after being arrested for suspected driving under the influence in Colorado despite a clean blood test.
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Jesse Cunningham just thought he was doing the right thing.
Nearly five years ago, Cunningham witnessed a car crash in Fort Collins while on a trip with his family.
What happened next was a far cry from a vacation.
Cunningham was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence by Officer Jason Haferman, who never gave him a breathalyzer.
Earlier in the night, Cunningham admitted to having two beers hours before that crash and even offered to take field sobriety tests.
They were tests, according to Haferman’s report, that Cunningham did not complete as a sober person.
His blood results said otherwise; they were clean.
“It was jawdropping at every step of the way,” Cunningham’s attorney, Sarah Schielke, said.
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Schielke represents four other people who are also suing the city after being arrested by the same officer under similar circumstances.
Schielke said all five had their cases dismissed either by breathalyzer or by blood tests.
Cunningham’s lawsuit was recently settled for $500,000.
“It was just traumatic experience one after another and it had a profound effect on my girls, my daughters,” Cunningham said.
Cunningham hopes people learn from what happened to him.
Under the settlement, Cunningham cannot say anything disparaging about the department, but his lawyer can.
“I think the number says a lot and it speaks really to the broader issues and problems at this department. It appears to be a cultural problem at this agency and I’m going to keep fighting until that’s fixed,” Schielke said.
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