Torch Exclusive: MSP Trooper Seymour Blew .14 BAC at Traffic Stop, Sister Unlawfully Detained, Brutalized

[XLFD]

Michigan State Trooper Sammy Sidney Seymour who was driving his sister home from the bar early in the morning of January 17, 2015 initially refused a 'Breathalyzer' (PBT) test, but about a half hour later consented and clocked in at .14 BAC, almost twice the legal limit of impaired driving in Michigan. 

Seymour had initially been seen coming from the parking area in front of the Alley Bar by Ludington Police Department (LPD) Officer Steve Wietrzykowski, who saw him drive north a block on South James Street, then headed east on Filer St without any headlights on.  Wietrzykowski then saw the red VW Jetta stop in the middle of the street, before turning from Harrison to Loomis heading past the courthouse, with lights.  Before any lights were activated by the LPD officer, the car turned up Delia heading south, and stopped. 

Behind the wheel was off-duty MSP Trooper Seymour, with his sister, Kimberly Septrion in the back seat, and a young woman named Tracy Smith in the passenger's seat.  Smith self-reportedly had been along to 'babysit' Septrion at the bar, but like her traveling companions, had a few that night.  Officer Wietrzykowski smelled a 'very strong odor of intoxicants', including an open Busch beer by the driver.  in short order Seymour was taken from the Jetta to the back of the LPD SUV. 

Less than a minute later, with Wietrzykowski's formal arrest of Seymour occurring after his refusal to take tests, his sister got out of the Jetta on her own initiative and went back to the LPD vehicle just after Wietrzykowski came back to check out the open beverage and other indicators.

Reportedly, Sheriff Deputy Fort shows up shortly after the LPD officer tries to resume the investigation of Seymour, but is being interfered with by Septrion.  Wietrzykowski reports:

This part of the report is troubling, and is basically backed up by LPD Officer Chad Skiba's report:

Skiba uses the term 'officers' physically dealing with a female when he reports on what he sees at first, and yet his in-car video does not activate until after 2:30 AM, three minutes after Ms. Septrion is whisked away by Deputy Fort to the jail as seen below (the moving car in the street):

The first image from Skiba's in-car camera starts after all the action with Septrion is done, and Smith is rounded up and she apparently accepts a ride home voluntarily from Officer Skiba:

 

The absence of footage from the encounter with Septrion is troubling with the way the reports are written.  As a back seat passenger, Septrion was under no threat of arrest for anything.  Wietrzykowski seems to indicate that she was interfering with an investigation, but her proximity to the patrol car seems to be the main problem noted, and the distorted audio does not indicate she was yelling outside the original patrol car, yet he does not indicate he was outside with Deputy Fort trying to control her, as Skiba's report indicates. 

There is no reason stated by any officer why she needed to be put voluntarily in the back of the deputy's car.  She was never declared under arrest, never detained for the purpose of questioning, never given any probable cause of why she should be locked up in the back of a vehicle.  There are threats of arrest by Wietrzykowski if she didn't stay away from the patrol car, which he admits Deputy Fort was successful in doing. 

Without any articulable reason for detention, they forcefully placed her in the back of the sheriff's car; drunk or not, Septrion had a reason to be upset and fight for her freedom that was taken from her.  The two charges against her, non-aggravated assault and obstructing police can only be claimed to have happened after her unlawful detention. 

But that's not all.  Unmentioned in the official reports so far is the fact that the officers admit taking Ms. Septrion down to the ground to handcuff her, where she struck the street's pavement with her face and chipped a tooth.  Look for the prosecutor to heap a lot of charges on Ms. Septrion when the real crime here was unlawful imprisonment by the sheriff's office of Mason County and the LPD acting in concert.  These two entities acting in concert to take a guiltless person down in the middle of the street just like they did the day they did the same to Joe McAdam.  But they spared the tasers for the lady.

The City and County will once again get sued because their officers just don't want to use their training.  But kudos and commendation should be placed on LPD Officer Wietrzykowski, who did the most impartial traffic stop I've ever seen a LPD officer do, and fairly report on what one might expect of a cornered rat named Sammy Sidney Seymour:

See the complete report here:  2015 1-17 Seymour Stop.pdf

With the Citation here, and the BBUT Report here.

[AQUAMAN]

Close to 14 day thread now, and almost 1400 views so far, and counting. That's almost 100 views per day, great viewing by all too many, and no post. Oh, I forgot, the LPD/MCSO/COLDNews is probably the majority of the views, on duty, wasting precious taxpayer's time. If you guys in LE have something to add, please feel free to do so. Otherwise, you are not paid to spy on the public, irregardless of the open forum platform. It's disgusting to think this gripes you in LE, if you don't publish your thoughts and experiences that may prove interesting, and factual to the circumstances. Maybe that's it, hiding in the shadows is much more safe and sound. And perhaps the public simply doesn't deserve the real truth as per the usual ways of doing things around Ludville?

[Dave]

Update regarding the sister.... she's avoiding jail time by pleading to a lesser charge it looks like

http://www.masoncountypress.com/2015/02/19/troopers-sister-avoids-j...

[XLFD]

It's promising to see that the Seymour part is also scheduled to begin the process, I thought it might have already been lost somewhere near Hamlin Lake in that Valentine's Day blizzard. 

It looks like Septrion will be able to keep her nurse job, now she gets the opportunity to get the creep (in Federal court) who assaulted and imprisoned her unlawfully that night before telling her that she was going to lose her job.   

[stump]

Now that she plead no contest to the charges, basically saying yes I did it , BUT! Doesn't that weaken the case against the police for the claim of assault , Their going to say she started it.

[AQUAMAN]

Update on Seymour: he will go to trial on April 20th now. The field sobriety tests have been thrown out for this case. But, the circumstances leading up to the stop, and the other evidence of drunken driving, stopping in the middle of the street, odor of alcohol, and open container, make the case for going to trial per Judge Wadel. Seymour appears to have a twin team of attorneys to fight this. It will be interesting and of note to John Q. Public if Seymour gets the same treatment as any other citizen, or gets amnesty and a biased result from a jury. (Article taken from LDN, not able to transfer here at this time for some unknown reason.)

[XLFD]

Thanks for the update assist, Aquaman.  That's going to be interesting if it goes to trial.

[Willy]

The field sobriety test may have been thrown out but didn't he take a blood alcohol test?

I found the link Aquaman

http://www.shorelinemedia.net/ludington_daily_news/news/local/artic...

[XLFD]

Trooper Seymour took a Datamaster test, a special breath test whose findings are generally admissible in court; no blood alcohol test was administered.  Here is an informative link on the Datamaster test and ways to avoid a conviction based on its findings. 

Check out the complete report links up above.  I left out some of the Datamaster results that came with the FOIA response, just because they were basically duplicative and referenced on the report.

[AQUAMAN]

Irregardless of all the tests and evidence against Seymour, I feel Pros. Paul has a soft spot for the MSP. (Look at his findings on the Bill Marble case as a prime example.) Therefore, I would be willing to bet some plea deal will be made on April 20th. Look for something in the nature of a careless/reckless driving deal, or at worst perhaps an impaired deal. Remember I am predicting this over a month in advance too, and let's see what actually happens.

[Willy]

The only thing Seymour can be convicted of is the open alcohol charge and even that will be questionable. My guess is that unless he can get a favorable plea bargain such as a "citation level" offense, that will allow him to keep his job, he will take his chances with a jury. Without any evidence that he had been drinking there's not much left to convict him with. Blood shot eyes could mean anything from dust in his eyes to being tired. Not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign is not a convincing argument that a person is DUI nor is the fact that he stopped his vehicle in the middle of the street. All of these points can be easily explained away. So with the absence of any physical test for alcohol I think Mr Seymour will come out of this smelling like a rose. The only thing he will regret is the expense of hiring an attorney. That's what's really going to cost him.