Good morning, Netizens...

[Picture of Todd Chism from KREM-2 News]

Let me be absolutely clear about this: in no way can I condone nor tolerate persons who drink and then drive. Todd Chism should be held to the same standards that would apply to you or I if we were caught driving while intoxicated. I do not want to know nor speculate about the number of men and women that have been killed by drunk drivers. Were it not for our local law enforcement, Todd Chism could have been convicted of a far more serious crime than Driving While Intoxicated.

This is Todd Chism's second arrest in a very short curve of time for being drunk behind the wheel.

Just so I can live with the outcome, I hasten to point out that Todd Chism was once falsely arrested by members of the Washington State Patrol for possession of child pornography. Todd Chism, rather than a perpetrator of a crime, was a victim of a far more-heinous crime, in that his rights were denied him, and that a flawed investigation cast his entire life into question.

Had I endured the kinds of publicity that Todd Chism has endured, had I been questioned and had my personal property seized under false pretenses, I would still be fighting to regain my life. Given my personal history of borderline alcohol abuse, I probably would be arrested for driving drunk. My life all but gone, I would be killing the pain with alcohol.

So perhaps once Todd Chism comes to trial for his two charges of driving while impaired, I am hopeful that the judge places part of the blame for his errant behavior where it belongs. For if we are going to extract justice from Todd Chism for driving while intoxicated, we need to extract justice for Todd Chism for the injustices done to him by the Washington State Patrol.

Your thoughts, of course, may differ.

Dave

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