Sheriff breaks silence on viral DUI checkpoint video

Becca Andrews | The (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) Daily News Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Libertarian records DUI checkpoint confrontation with deputy Rutherford County Libertarian Party member Chris Kalbaugh, who is the driver in the video, uploaded this video to YouTube and expressed his concern that his constitutional rights were violated.

Sheriff said he fully supports Deputy A.J. Ross%27 actions at the DUI checkpoint

Marijuana shakings and seeds were found in car%2C Rutherford County sheriff says

Chris Kalbaugh recorded the DUI stop as part of a Libertarian Party campaign

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- After a six-day silence, the Rutherford County (Tenn.) Sheriff said he fully supports Deputy A.J. Ross' actions in the DUI checkpoint video posted by the Libertarian Party that went viral.

The video, filmed by Middle Tennessee State University student Chris Kalbaugh as he was stopped at a Tennessee Highway Patrol DUI checkpoint, showed Ross in a verbal altercation with Kalbaugh. The video posted July 4 went viral after it was posted by libertarianrepublic.com. The junior accuses Ross of violating his constitutional rights during a checkpoint stop.

The video, Sheriff Robert Arnold said Thursday, left out Ross' discovery of marijuana shakings in Kalbaugh's door handle and two marijuana seeds in his backseat.

The Rutherford County Sheriff's Department released a full dash-cam video of the incident.

"So far we have found that A.J. (Ross) has done no wrongdoing," said Arnold.

In the video, Ross asks Kalbaugh to roll down his window farther, and Kalbaugh refuses, saying it's fine where it is. When Kalbaugh continues to challenge Ross' demands, Ross orders him to pull his car over and step out. Later, a drug dog searches the outside of car, then inside.

Kalbaugh was allowed to leave and received no citations.

Arnold said Ross' response to Kalbaugh was completely appropriate and in accordance with the force continuum, the system officers use to gauge the best reaction escalation to a situation.

Arnold said Kalbaugh has told them he would not file any complaint against Ross and denied the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office's request for his full video.

At a checkpoint, officers need to be able to smell the driver's breath, see pupils and hear slurred speech, the sheriff said.

He described Kalbaugh's video as "one-sided" and said it is damaging to the fragile public trust.

"I still encourage (Kalbaugh) to put out the unedited version," Arnold said. "According to Deputy Ross, when he found the camera, he picked it up and he points it right there and says, "This is why the dog alerted on your car, these are marijuana grainlets."

Years ago, Arnold said, he was active in the local Libertarian party and said he finds the backlash "ironic."