Confrontational driver arrested for disorderly conduct

Historic City News reminds readers that more than half of automobile collisions occur within 5 miles of home; presenting special hazards for drivers on divided highways, like Anastasia Boulevard, that cut through residential areas. Patrons of the St Augustine Amphitheatre contribute to the risk of other local and through traffic — requiring added caution, especially during concerts and other events.

Even with reinforcement from additional law enforcement officers, the Amphitheatre cannot guarantee that concertgoers will not have too much to drink before they venture out of the parking lot and attempt to drive themselves home.

Saturday, November 16, at about 10:00 p.m. as the audience was leaving the O.A.R. Tailgate Tour with Cris Cab, St Augustine Police Patrolman John Niederriter was called to assist a St Johns County deputy assigned to traffic control at the Amphitheatre. He arrived to find Deputy Samuel Sheffield talking to a driver who had stopped her car in the middle of the highway.

According to the incident report, the driver, 54-year-old Carolyn R Wade, was stopped by Sheffield for driving, northbound, in the center turn lane of Anastasia Boulevard. Wade lives several blocks from the Amphitheater, in the Pelican Reef subdivision, but Officer Niederriter reported that “she seemed confused about where her street was” and was “incoherent when she spoke”.

Wade became confrontational with the officers when they asked her questions about her driving, the report said. “She would not answer the questions, and kept asking why she was stopped,” Niederriter wrote. Deputy Sheffield asked Wade to step out of her vehicle and she reportedly struggled with him, “slightly”.

When Officer Niederriter escorted the driver out of the roadway and onto the safety of the Amphitheater property, he stated that Wade “abruptly pulled away” from his grasp and away from him.

“Wade spun around, almost striking me with her arm,” Niederriter reported from the scene. “I attempted to regain control of Wade, and, as I was doing so, she was yelling — causing people leaving the concert to stop and take notice.”

Niederriter wrote that he took control of the woman, who he says “appeared to be under the influence of an alcoholic beverage”. He handcuffed her and placed her in his police vehicle. The officer informed Wade that she was under arrest, and then transported her to the St Johns County Detention Facility at the Neil J Perry Criminal Justice Complex where she was charged with disorderly intoxication and resisting an officer without violence. Wade was not charged with the more serious charge of driving under the influence; however, she remained in jail, overnight, until she was released on an appearance bond of $750 for the two misdemeanor charges.