ROCKY RIVER, Ohio – Rocky River’s police chief defended his officer’s treatment of Cleveland Browns running back Kareem Hunt during a traffic stop where the officer found marijuana and a bottle of vodka in his car.

Patrolman Mike Asbury cited Hunt with speeding during the Jan. 21 stop on Interstate 90, but did not cite him for marijuana possession or an open container violation. Dashboard camera video of the traffic stop includes audio of Asbury saying he could smell alcohol on Hunt’s breath, and Hunt saying he’d fail a drug test if one was administered.

Asbury said during the stop that he is “one of the hugest Browns fans ever,” and went on to lecture Hunt about his life choices, the dash cam video shows.

Rocky River police Chief Kelly Stillman said Tuesday that he’s received some phone calls about Asbury’s decision not to charge Hunt over the marijuana or the vodka. But he said he’s received twice as many calls lauding Asbury’s handling of the incident.

“We are human beings, and there’s no policy that says you can’t have a casual conversation with somebody in the back seat of your car,” Stillman said. “I think it’s good to be able to talk with someone on a human being level, and not be a robot.”

Stillman said Asbury is his department’s best officer for policing drunken driving. The Cuyahoga County OVI Task Force recognized him as Rocky River’s “Top OVI cop” each of the last two years, Stillman said.

“Mike is one of my most aggressive guys when it comes to alcohol or drug impairment,” Stillman said. “He’s an expert at what he does.”

Hunt denied ownership of the marijuana during the stop, but later said it was “not all mine,” the dash cam video shows. Asbury told Hunt that he found marijuana and the vodka bottle, which had its seal broken, in a backpack with Hunt’s name on it, the video shows.

Rocky River police Lt. George Lichman told cleveland.com last week that Asbury found less than a gram of marijuana in the car.

Asbury chose not to give Hunt a ticket for the marijuana due to the state law that legalized industrial hemp, Stillman said. Asbury confiscated the marijuana, but it would need to be sent to a lab for testing to confirm whether it contains enough THC to be a criminal offense.

Rocky River’s law department instructed the city’s police officers to not write tickets for small amounts of marijuana due to the hemp law, Stillman said. Rocky River prosecutor Mike O’Shea on Tuesday directed questions about the traffic stop to the police department.

Asbury said during the stop that he could smell alcohol on Hunt’s breath, but he did not subject Hunt to any field sobriety tests, the dash cam video shows. Asbury did not feel those tests were necessary because he did not detect any other signs of impairment, such as slurred speech or bloodshot eyes, Stillman said.

“Mike obviously didn’t get any of those other cues, which is why he didn’t go any farther,” Stillman said. “I have to rely on my officer’s judgment. And this is the top guy in my department.”

Cleveland defense attorney Joseph Patituce specializes in representing clients in drunken-driving cases, and said most drivers are not subjected to field sobriety tests under similar circumstances.

“If he’s not slurring his speech, and he’s not staggering, or exhibiting signs of impairment, the law says you should cut him free,” Patituce said.

Patituce said the officer could have cited Hunt with an open container violation for the vodka, but officers might give drivers a break if they’re not impaired and the bottle is closed. In those cases, an officer might simply lecture a driver, Patituce said.

“That’s a discretionary thing, and I can respect that,” he said. “That’s a common-sense rule.”

O’Shea said Rocky River’s police officers, like others across the U.S., follow National Highway Traffic Safety Administration guidelines on drunken-driving stops. Those guidelines instruct officers to look for red-flags for impairment, and to use discretion to determine whether the driver should take field sobriety tests.

Cleveland attorney Ian Friedman also said Tuesday that he did not see any issues with Asbury’s handling of the stop. Friedman is the current president of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, and said he spoke with other attorneys who share that opinion.

“There’s nothing that would make me believe there was any sort of preferential treatment," Friedman said.

To comment on this story, visit Tuesday’s crime and courts comments page.

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