Mouthing off to police officers probably isn’t the best way to get out of a sticky situation. A woman from Madeira Beach, Florida, ended up in handcuffs after she tried to impress authorities with her ballet dance moves during a field sobriety test following a car crash.
Amy Harrington rear-ended another vehicle on Gulf Boulevard a little before 10:30 p.m. one evening. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office deputy who responded to the crash reported Harrington had slurred speech, glassy eyes and was quite unsteady on her feet. When the deputy smelled alcohol, he requested a sobriety test be completed.
Harrington refused to provide the breath test but she did attempt to follow the instructions given by officers to walk along a yellow line. Of course, the dancer disobeyed the officer’s orders and added a spin on the typical sobriety test by including some dance moves.
The 38-year-old was caught on body camera footage performing a one-woman dance show, with dance moves ranging from ballet to an Irish jig. The deputy on duty was not amused, which led to Harrington saying, “Oh my God! You sound like my [expletive] ballet coach,” before breaking into another dance.
When exhaustion kicked in, Harrington begged for the officer to arrest her to get the test over with. After nearly eight minutes, the deputy did just that and placed Harrington in handcuffs. She was charged with DUI with property damage and refusal to submit to testing. This is Harrington’s second time being arrested for refusing a breath alcohol test.