A state senator in California is still seeking vindication after police arrested her for driving under the influence while she was reportedly stone-cold sober.
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Sabrina Cervantes, an out Democrat representing Riverside, was involved in an accident near the state capitol building in Sacramento last month, in which she said her sedan "was t-boned by a large SUV." The SUV driver, who was found to have run through a stop sign, was deemed at fault and cited for the accident.
Cervantes was then taken to a nearby emergency room so she could be checked for injuries. There, she was "accosted by Sacramento Police Department officers, falsely accused of driving under the influence, and involuntarily detained for several hours at the hospital." She was also allegedly not allowed to contact her attorney or wife during this time.
"This ordeal was deeply distressing and left me even more shaken," Cervantes said in a statement at the time. "As a Senator, wife, and mother, I hold myself to the highest standard and expect others that serve our communities to do the same. I want to be clear: I did nothing wrong. The lab results I sought in the hospital show conclusively I had no alcohol or drugs in my system. I expect this to be quickly and justly resolved."
Cervantes released the results of the blood test demanded by police, which show a blood alcohol content of near zero, and a urine test taken a day later, which came back clean. Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho announced that his office would not be pursuing charges a week after the accident, confirming that she had “no measurable amount of drugs or alcohol in her system.”
"As I stated from the beginning, I did absolutely nothing wrong and the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office has now affirmed as much," Cervantes said in a follow up statement. "While my name was cleared, this ordeal was entirely unnecessary. It has also caused my family and me enormous stress and pain. No one deserves this."
Cervantes and her attorney, James Quadra, believe that the wrongful arrest was politically motivated, as Cervantes is a Latina member of the LGBTQ+ caucus. Quadra has even accused police of having “leaked” the case to reporters in an effort to smear her.
The two are demanding that the city and law enforcement release records involving the case — such as body camera footage, police reports, and warrants — to fully clear her name. They are considering suing the city, as Quadra believes that officials violated her “state and federal rights, constitutional rights, civil rights, and to address defamatory statements made against her.”
“We believe [the police] were politically motivated because of how the information was disseminated [to the press], and the whole sort of picture of her being under the influence,” Quadra told CalMatters. “To our view, it’s to try to silence an active member of the Latino Democratic Caucus, of the LGBTQ+ caucus. They want to silence her voice.”
“It’s like a police state,” he continued. “It’s what we’re seeing across the country, especially with Latinos, and she’s a member of that community.”
CalMatters reports that it has requested under the California Public Records Act access to body camera footage, police reports, and more.
