Milwaukee FOX affiliate WITI is being credited for helping a woman prove she had been falsely accused of drunk driving by a Milwaukee County Sheriff’s deputy.
WITI reports, Tanya Weyker recently filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke and four of his deputies. Weyker’s lawyer said WITI discovered a key piece of evidence proving police were in the wrong.
The lawsuit comes two months after a FOX6 investigation showed Sheriff’s Deputy Joseph Quiles T-boned Weyker’s Toyota Camry and then lied about who caused the crash.
Weyker admitted to having a few sips of a friend’s drink that night — and nothing more.
Her injuries were too severe to perform field sobriety tests.
Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Griffin arrested Weyker anyway — and cited her for driving drunk, even though blood tests would later prove Weyker had no alcohol or drugs in her system.
“I explained to him my eyes were red and glassy because I was crying,” Weyker told FOX6 Investigator Bryan Polcyn.
Erickson says his client was treated like a criminal as she laid in a hospital bed in pain.
“Had to ask for permission to use the wash room in front of a deputy who was keeping watch on her,” Erickson said.
Video from an airport surveillance camera eventually proved that Deputy Quiles never stopped before turning onto Howell Avenue — as he claimed in his report.
The Sheriff’s Office knew about the video two days after the crash, but the drunk driving case continued for 10 months before a prosecutor finally decided to file formal charges.
“A video that exonerated Ms. Weyker was sat on for months and months until the good work of FOX 6,” Erickson said.