A Trial After Three Years

On June 20, 2020, an African man was arrested in Danvers for driving under the influence. His trial was held on June 21, 2023. He rejected a jury trial and was found guilty by the judge. His story is of interest, particularly during this time of increased racial injustice awareness.

Shortly after his arrest, I learned of him through a social justice group connected to Beverly’s Zen Center and became part of his support group of six white people, accompanying him to court for multiple hearings during the three years.

The defendant, James, is the author of his memoir, I Was Just a Quiet Little Boy, describing his childhood in Sudan during the Sudanese war, his years in refuge camps, his education, and his immigration to the United States. He does not drink.

During the years of hearings, we (his support group) learned that his arrest in the Danvers Market Basket parking lot occurred after a woman called the police to report his erratic driving, parking, and his unsteady walk into the store. The police arrived on the scene. Two different versions of the story happened next, depending on who is telling the story.

According to James, as he approached his car with his bag of groceries, he was interrupted by the police, who asked for his license and kept it, prevented him from putting his groceries in his car, then asked him to take a breathalyzer test. He took the test twice. Neither time did it indicate a lack of sobriety, so the officer determined the test to be faulty.

The officer asked James to perform other standard sobriety tests, involving walking. The officer observed the results and considering James to have failed these tests, arrested him for DUI.

Later, the police officer reported that James did not have a license with him, although it had been taken from him. He was not allowed to enter or drive his car.

The police officer did not have a body camera and Market Basket was never asked for its videos of the event. James was never observed driving by the officer, yet he was convicted of a DUI, merely on the evidence of the officer’s report of walking sobriety tests.

According to James’ appointed attorney, he was not able to raise the issue of the breathalyzer tests and whether it was actually faulty, or whether, in fact, it had accurately indicated James’ sobriety. James’ guilty finding resulted in an additional three months without his license; he has already been without it for these past three years. Additionally, he is required to take multiple classes, costing thousands of dollars. James works as a dishwasher.

This has diminished my faith in our justice system, that one police officer’s opinion has so adversely affected an innocent man’s life.

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