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Clearwater Police Were Sloppy, Bollea's Attorney Argues

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 29, 2008

CLEARWATER - CLEARWATER - Nick Bollea's defense attorney accused Clearwater police of sloppy and ethically questionable work before a hearing officer with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles agreed officers should not have taken a sample of the teenager's blood following an Aug. 26 wreck, according to documents released late this afternoon.

The police even used the wrong form to submit the blood sample for analysis, attorney Kevin Hayslett wrote in a motion submitted to the hearing officer.

After Bollea, the 17-year-old son of former wrestler Hulk Hogan, wrecked a Toyota Supra in Clearwater on Aug. 26, critically injuring passenger John Graziano, Clearwater police took a sample of his blood. Laboratory analysts determined his ethanol serum level was .055 – which was higher than the .02 level allowed for juvenile drivers. This was one of the reasons his license was suspended.

In his motion, Hayslett said an Officer Milne wrote a report on Nov. 2, more than two months after the wreck, that Bollea "had blood shot eyes and was quiet, when he spoke his voice was low." But, Hayslett said in the motion, there is no police report written at the time of the wreck that indicates Bollea might have been under the influence of alcohol.

"It appears that Officer Milne and/or the Clearwater police department recognized they did not possess probable cause to obtain a lawful blood draw and this was a weak attempt to justify their actions after the fact," Hayslett said.

Hayslett submitted four photographs of Bollea that were taken at Bayfront Medical Center, at the same time Bollea's blood was drawn, that show the teenager did not have bloodshot eyes, the documents state. He also submitted a Nov. 2 probable cause affidavit in which Clearwater traffic homicide investigator, Todd Turpack, who's in charge of the investigation, wrote that Bollea had bloodshot eyes and his speech was mumbled.

Hayslett also noted that the 29 witnesses, most of them police and firefighters, who had contact with Bollea at the scene of the wreck did not notice any alcohol on his breath, the motion says.

Clearwater police also used a form to submit the blood that was out of date by seven years, Hayslett argued.

Following Hayslett's argument, hearing officer David Laliberte in a ruling Tuesday said there was not enough information to support the suspension of Bollea's license based on an unlawful alcohol level. Bollea's license, however, remains suspended for two other reasons – one, an unpaid traffic ticket; the other, the felony criminal charge filed against him following the wreck.

Ann Nucatola, a spokeswoman with the state agency, declined to say whether Laliberte's ruling means he accepted Hayslett's arguments. She said the documents would have to speak for themselves.
Prosecutors said the hearing officer's decision regarding the status of Bollea's driver's license has little bearing on the criminal allegations against him. Bollea is charged with reckless driving involving serious bodily injury.

Assistant State Attorney Scott Rosenwasser said the DHSMV administrative hearings and criminal cases are in "two separate venues." Rosenwasser also said Bollea's blood alcohol level at the time of the wreck "is not a critical part of our case."

Rosenwasser said he would be relying more on witnesses who say Bollea was racing and driving recklessly on rain-slicked roads, and that an accident reconstruction put his speed at 69 to 70 mph at the point where the Supra hit a palm tree, critically injuring Graziano, who remains hospitalized.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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