Whistleblower 9 Investigation: Did Charlotte police follow DWI protocol?

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is investigating whether two of its officers properly followed DWI procedures after Whistleblower 9 started asking questions.

An Eyewitness News viewer sent Whistleblower 9 dashcam video that shows a car swerving off the road onto a sidewalk and then moments later crashing into another vehicle.

The crash was reported about a week ago in the Steele Creek area of southwest Charlotte.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is investigating if two of its officers properly followed DWI procedures after Whistleblower 9 started asking questions... See the story and watch the video for yourself... Starting Tonight at 5 on Channel 9 Eyewitness News. >>> WSOC-TV

Posted by WSOC's Paul Boyd on Monday, April 4, 2016

Trevor Vandyne, who was in the car that got hit, told Whistleblower 9: "It was like slow motion because I couldn't believe I was seeing it."

Whistleblower 9 reporter Paul Boyd obtained photos that showed the aftermath of the collision.

People who witnessed the crash got out of their cars to help.

"(The) first thing they mentioned was take his keys, make sure he doesn't drive off (because) he's been all over the road," said Vandyne, who said the man who hit him was clearly on something. "His eyes are glossy red. He's out of it. I asked was he drunk? Was he high? Had he been drinking? Had he smoked anything? He told me he was high."

Vandyne said he told the responding police officer that the driver told him he was high and he believed that police were about to arrest the man: "In my opinion, I firmly believe he was going to give him a citation for being under the influence."

But Vandyne said everything changed after the officer saw another police report lying on the front seat of the man's car.

Forty minutes earlier, fewer than two blocks away, the same driver and the same car were in another crash.

The officer from the first accident was called to the scene of the second accident.

The driver was not charged.

Instead, a family member of the man was called to drive him home.

Vandyne was outraged.

"How is this your second accident of the day and you get to go home?" he asked. "How does that happen?"

Whistleblower 9 tracked down the family member who picked up the man and asked her what police said that day.

"They said that he was drunk,” she said.

But the man, 24-year-old William Gray, was never charged with DWI.

When Whistleblower 9 tracked down Gray, he admitted that he was never given a Breathalyzer or field sobriety test.

• Boyd: "You were in two accidents in the span of 40 minutes?"
• Gray: "You're right."
• Boyd: "Something was clearly wrong with you that morning?"
• Gray: "You're right."
• Boyd: "You shouldn't have been behind the wheel."
• Gray: "That's debatable."
• Boyd: "If you look at it objectively, William, you should not have been behind the wheel that morning."
• Gray: "That was debatable."

Gray maintained his innocence, saying: "I wasn't drunk. I told the police that I had a beer but I didn't say I was drunk.”

Whistleblower 9 showed Gray the video of his driving.

• Boyd: "Now can you really say after watching this that you should have been behind the wheel that morning?"
• Gray: "I don't know. I don't want to say anything else."
• Boyd: "You don't want to talk any more now."
• Gray: "Uh huh."

Whistleblower 9 asked CMPD for its version of the story. Spokesman Robert Tufano sent a statement: "We take the offense of (drunken) driving seriously. We are currently investigating the circumstances of the incident."

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