Ellingson blows (or refuses to blow)

unless I missed something, he has not yet been charged with DUI. Only with failing to blow. While the logical assumption is that he had something to hide, it couldbe notso.

unless he is actually charged with DUI or proven to be guilty of same, then there is no requirement for the league or team to take action.

While I do not think it so, there remains the possibility that he had other reason for not blowing. He could be germophobic, or he could have been in a bad mood and just didn’t feel like cooperating.

ONLY?? failing to blow

Refusing to provide a sample and if convicted, is subject to the same penalties as if you were convicted of driving while impaired. Both are criminal charges.

Auto Insurance is affected as well, as if it were a dui.

You are 100% correct. How much does this guy make? Like $280k a year. Call a cab.

Germaphobic ? bad mood ? just didn’t feel like it ? Seriously ? Yer kidding right ? Kinda reaching don’t ya think ?

I tell you what , the next time that a police officer pulls you over for whatever reason and asks for your license and identification try telling him that you just don’t feel like it or that you’re in a bad mood . Let me know how that works out for ya .

I didn’t say it was a good idea or acceptable excuse, just that it is a possible reason for some.

Only reason for doing it was thinking he was over the limit, but could sober up to the warn range by the time they administered the blood test. at which point, failing to blow provides a slightly less significant charge.

Agree! No excuse.

He will save face by apologizing on social media and then by making a large donation to either MADD or AA.

Not so much that it is serious or not…i don’t think many felt it wasn’t serious. I think the main bones of contention were/are…

  • should the team and/or league be stepping in prior to conviction or a player admitting guilt? My understanding is that in at least one of these that the player did.
  • some seemed to think it should equate to a release of the player. I think this was the big one. IMO that is over the top…unless there is a history of things there already.

With the high profile of these 2 examples, perhaps the best thing that could come from it is championing change.

Basically everyone knows someone who has drank and drove. Most know someone who have been charged. It doesn’t make them a demon…it means they made a stupid mistake and are fortunate this was all that came of it. That is not meant to downplay the seriousness of it all…not at all. But the reality is that offences are weighted by outcome. Shooting a gun in public…bad. hitting someone with a bullet will be a way steeper outcome though. In the other thread, some refused to separate those realities.

I’ve talked with Ellingson several times over the years. He seems like a stand up guy. I do hope he gets a fine and/or game out of this…nut more importantly is that I hope he learns, corrects, and ideally motivates

Not exactly. The outcome can and generally is just as bad.

It is a lot more common to refuse than people seem to think. Generally it is “No, not until I speak to my lawyer” as to why.

Was it confirmed that he was drunk or did he indulge in our new “legal” opportunity?

They must have thought he was drunk to ask him to blow. My only issue with the current technology is that it can be unreliable.
I was rear ended years ago by someone on the highway. When the OPP showed up they had me blow because I was chewing gum (he thought I was covering up the smell of alcohol). It was 4pm on my way home from work. I had had not had a drink in a few days. When I blew it showed “yellow “. I told him to try again…so he blew into it and it was yellow again. Then he can unplugged and plugged it in again and he blew green. I them blew into it and it was green. Faulty machine.

That’s weird. And a source for a possible defence in case of a charge… calibration of the machine can be an issue. Similar in case of a speeding charge based on radar.

then he would have refused a saliva swab :slight_smile:

yeah…the funny thing is different things can make you blow some level of a reading…which is why if they bring you in to a station for an official sample they make you wait between tests.

If you get asked to blow again then do it, and if you fail say that you want a cup of water and 20 minutes and to be retested. If you know you are fine…as in your instance…and you are blowing to a point that they want to escalate things, tell them you want a blood test. Breathalysers can go out…a lot harder to get a bad reading with blood samples…and this is a reason people sometimes refuse roadside tests…those mobile machines are by no means rock solid.

Not only can the machines be out (they do test them), but acetone gives high readings…again, hence some people’s desire to not do roadside tests. Hypoglycemic / Diabetic people are prone to having higher levels ofacetone, and can actually blow over .08 while being stone sober.

Further…different foods and even some gums can provide a false reading.

Here is a solid video that actually shows them sampling foods and the results from doing so…if you have never seen or heard of this before you will probably be pretty shocked.

I learned this years ago…I went through a drive through and was eating while driving. There was no traffic, so I wasn’t concerned. Of coarse at some point I got a little swervy and sure enough…pulled over. I failed the breathalyser…and I was sober. My wife was with me, and her/her friends had dealt with this a lot in the past…she called BS on it and demanded the water and time, then a re-test…I passed. I am not sure if the agreed to it because they knew she dealt with this kind of stuff or if they normally do it upon request…I would think most would do it.

Espo: Not sure what you are trying to say.

The law is simple and clear. If Ellingson is convicted of “Failing to Blow” he will automatically be given a $1000.00 fine AND lose his driver’s licence for one year.

Dork: If Ellingson is convicted, I think his future in the CFL could be in jeopardy. Ottawa likes to run a squeaky clean operation and he will be a free agent in February. He could be seen as damaged goods…which would be too bad. He is a talented player.

Refusing a breath sample is a tough charge to beat unless the officer has no evidence of drinking. Ellingson was charged Nov 30th so in a way he is lucky because new Impaired Driving laws came into effect December 1st which allow police to check for drinking drivers, even if they have no evidence at all that a driver had been drinking. A conviction for refusing a breath test carries a mandatory $1000.00 fine and a 12 month driver’s licence suspension. That could affect Ellingson’s ability to drive in the US too.

Also to be correct…the term used in Canada to describe the criminal offence of operating or having care or control of a motor vehicle while the person’s ability to operate the motor vehicle is impaired by alcohol or a drug…is “Impaired Driving”. Not DUI. That’s what they call it in the US.

They are not giving up Ellingson. He is an integral part of their offence. All will be forgiven when he will apologize on twitter and then do some community work or make a donation to M.A.D.D.

Funny true Ottawa story. In 1986 , my friend and I were drinking in Hull Quebec at his place and then decided to hit a night club called hellium by foot. I got totally smashed as I knew I was not driving and he had a few too many. AT 4 am we walk to his place and he makes us coffee’s and some water and then decides he is ok to drive me home in his truck and he brought his German Sheppard and put him in the back seat.It was a foggy wintery night and as we were crossing the bridge to Ottawa, we saw a ride program in the middle of the bridge and it was too late to turn back. There was little or no visibility and these were french only police as my friend was running over their pylons an officer pounds on the window but cant see in. Next thing you know my friend panics and jumps into the back seat and then the dog barking jumps into the driver"s seat barking at the police officer. The police officer. speaking only french starts knocking on my passenger window. My friend holds tightly onto the dogs leash to calm the dog down as the police were threateni g to shoot the dog. I finally opened the door to see bewildered french cop with his hand on his gun screaming in french and he didn’t know what to do when he saw the dog in the driver’s seat. I said to the cop give him the breathalizer. The cop understood and was convinced that I was initially driving the car .We both tried to convince him it was my friend that was driving as I would never be driving after having so much to drink . Well the policemen dragged me into the back of the police car and forced me to take a breathalizer. As luck would have it a criminal friend of mine showed me how to beat a breathalizer. He told me to inhale as much air as possible and then slowly blow into the mschine for about 5 seconds essentially blowing as much clean fresh air into it as possible.
It failed a few times as it requires a minimum amount of air going into the machine. I soon realized how much and how long i needed to breathe into it. Funny thing is they were paying no attention to me at all so I could take very extreme deep breathes thus filling the machine with about 70 % clean air .
Turns out I blow a warning after having about 16 beers snd about 6 shots. So then I go back to the car and quickly tell my friend how to do what I did. Since me and the dog were unable to drive they asked my friend to blow and eventually it worked and he was under the limit and able to drive. Too bad Ellingson didn’t have this information.

F

If Kyries Hebert is squeaky clean I’d love to see what isn’t.

Guy pleaded guilty to a lesser charge from a domestic abuse charge and wasn’t allowed into Canada back before the league had a conscience. This league is a joke when it comes to consistency.

Krisiun is right. A statement and some community service or the more popular “I’m addressing this in my life” will be more than enough to get Greg the golden boy back to work. No riots or fan boycotts on this one.