On Wednesday night, the Public Security Police (PSP) arrested a 55-year-old man for possession of a prohibited weapon and disobedience on Rua Pedro Monteiro in Coimbra.
In a statement, the PSP explained that at around 9:55 PM, “the suspect was seen by police driving a vehicle with its lights off and was ordered to stop for inspection.”
Upon approaching the man, the police noticed that he “exhaled a strong odor of alcohol,” so they asked him to exit the car to undergo a breathalyzer test.
“When the suspect opened the vehicle door, it was possible to verify the existence of a prohibited weapon, namely an expandable baton, which led to his arrest,” the police continued.
Once at the PSP facilities, the detainee underwent a qualitative breathalyzer test, showing a blood alcohol level of 2.39 grams per liter. It should be noted that in Portugal, driving under the influence of alcohol is considered when a blood alcohol level equal to or greater than 0.5 g/l is detected. A level equal to or greater than 1.2 g/l is considered a crime.
“Given the exposed value, he was informed that he would be subjected to a quantitative test. However, the suspect repeatedly invalidated the execution of said test,” the informative note reads.
Despite being warned that he would be committing the crime of disobedience, the suspect maintained his refusal, which resulted in his arrest for this crime as well.
