Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Sailor DID NOT Use Raccoon to Bypass Breathalyzer




San Diego Union-Tribune
30 September 2015


By Tom Mallory and Lyndsay Winkley

Why question the truth when the story is this good?

The story was that a drunk Navy petty officer used a raccoon to bypass a breathalyzer installed in his vehicle.

We’re sorry, Internet, but it's just not true.

“I called police records, and while they were highly entertained, they confirmed (the story) is absolutely a hoax,” said 1st. Lt. Savannah Frank, a public affairs officer at Camp Pendleton.

The laugh-inspiring, but far-fetched story about an inebriated military man and a commandeered raccoon was put up on Imgur several days ago. The post featured a photograph of a police "incident report" from Saturday that spun quite a tale.

After a night of drinking, it read, a first class petty officer failed the breathalyzer test that allows his car to start. In a moment of alcohol-fueled ingenuity, he visited a nearby park, kidnapped a raccoon, and forced the creature to blow into the machine. […]

Frank said the official incident number featured in the post was a giveaway, since Camp Pendleton police records use a different system.

Just to be thorough, though, the officials who work with police records on base went through the incident logs and found no breathalyzer incidents involving raccoons or other rodents. […]