41 DUI arrests made by a single Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper in Bedford County have been dismissed — and in more than half of those cases, the drivers were either completely sober or within legal limits.

The arrests were all made by former Trooper Asa Pearl between 2021 and 2024, according to records obtained by WSMV4 (1) from the Bedford County Clerk's office. A spreadsheet compiled by the Bedford County District Attorney's office shows that in eight cases, drivers had neither drugs nor alcohol in their system. In 14 others, blood alcohol levels were within legal limits and no drugs were found. The remaining 19 cases were dropped for other reasons, including Pearl being unavailable for court or unable to recall details of the arrests.

Pearl resigned from the Tennessee Highway Patrol in 2024. No reason was given, and the dismissed DUI cases were not mentioned in his personnel file.

Ron LaFlamme was one of the drivers Pearl arrested. His blood work showed no substances whatsoever.

"I was surprised when he started asking me to do a sobriety test," LaFlamme told WSMV4 Investigates. "It was wrongful arrest."

LaFlamme said he never received an apology.

His attorney, David McKenzie, said word had been spreading in Bedford County about Pearl's dismissal rate — and that LaFlamme's case was far from the only one where blood results came back clean.

"It tells me there was a systemic problem with what he was doing on the side of the road," McKenzie said to WSMV4. "This could happen to your child. This could happen to your parent. This could happen to your co-worker."

The head of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Col. Matt Perry, told WSMV4 Investigates that he does not believe the drivers who tested negative were actually sober. Neither Pearl nor the THP responded to requests for comment.

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Pearl is the latest trooper exposed in WSMV4's ongoing "Sobering Problem" investigation, but the data shows this problem extends far beyond one officer in one county.

New data released by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation shows 419 sober drivers were arrested for DUI in Tennessee in 2024 — the highest single-year total since WSMV4 began tracking the numbers. The Tennessee Highway Patrol accounted for 180 of those arrests, more than any other agency in the state. The Knoxville region led with 41 sober arrests, followed by Nashville with 37 (2).

Since 2017, more than 2,500 Tennesseans have been arrested for DUI only to have blood tests later show no alcohol or drugs in their system (3).

Former troopers say there's a reason the numbers are so high. Ashley Smith and Adam Potts, both former THP officers, told WSMV4 Investigates that intense internal pressure to make DUI arrests was contributing to wrongful charges (4). Recorded audio obtained from Chattanooga THP Captain Patrick Turner captured him telling officers to "arrest every DUI that you can get your hands on."

"This is corruption. We're ruining people's lives. We're being forced to ruin people's lives," Smith said.

The problem isn't limited to Tennessee. A nationwide WSMV4 investigation found sober drivers arrested for DUI across 22 states, including Alabama, Hawaii, Florida, and Iowa.

Part of the issue may be the tests themselves. A 2023 randomized clinical trial published in JAMA Psychiatry found that trained law enforcement officers classified 49.2% of completely sober participants as impaired based on field sobriety tests. When sober participants failed, officers suspected 99% of them had consumed drugs — none of them had (5).

In response to WSMV4's reporting, Tennessee Sen. Raumesh Akbari passed legislation requiring the TBI to compile and publicly release sober DUI arrest data each year, broken down by agency (6).

"Tennesseans deserve transparency and accountability in law enforcement," Akbari said. "When people begin to question whether arrests are made for any reason other than public safety, trust erodes."

Col. Perry testified before state lawmakers in January 2026 — his first public appearance addressing the investigation. He maintained there is no quota system and said the agency has not found cases where arrests were inappropriate

"We've not had one that they said, 'Yeah, this was somebody that probably shouldn't have been arrested,'" Perry told lawmakers (7).

Even when charges are eventually dropped, a DUI arrest triggers a cascade of costs that can take years to recover from.

The immediate expenses alone are staggering. Towing and impound fees typically run $200 to $500. Bail can range from $500 to $2,500. Attorney fees for a DUI defense average roughly $3,150 nationally, but complex cases can push well past $10,000. Court and administrative fees add another $300 to $1,200. All told, the first-year costs of a DUI arrest can range from $10,000 to $25,000 (8) (9).

Stephen Smart knows these numbers firsthand. The Knoxville resident was arrested by a state trooper for DUI in 2025. His blood work came back negative for alcohol and drugs. By the time his case was resolved, he'd spent $10,500 on legal fees.

"I pretty much wiped my whole savings out," Smart told WSMV4 Investigates. "And then I just had to start back over."

Then there's insurance. A DUI arrest can spike auto insurance premiums by 80% to 400%, and those rate hikes typically last three to 10 years. Many drivers end up paying more than $10,000 in added premiums over the first three years alone. Some insurers cancel policies outright, forcing drivers into high-risk SR-22 coverage at even steeper rates.

And the damage doesn't stop when the charges disappear. Arrest records don't always vanish with a dismissal. A DUI charge can surface on background checks for seven to 10 years, limiting employment and housing opportunities regardless of the outcome.

The psychological toll can be just as severe. Roger Lewis, a sober driver arrested for DUI by Mt. Juliet police, said the experience left him unable to leave his home for nearly six months. Lewis, who has neuropathy and has had six knee surgeries, was made to perform a field sobriety test that required walking and standing on one leg. His blood work later showed no alcohol — only prescribed pain medication (10).

"I had to go see a special doctor. I couldn't sleep still. I'm still not back to normal," Lewis said.

Carl Binkley, a recovering heroin addict who had been clean for six years, was arrested for DUI by a THP trooper in Coffee County. Body camera footage shows Binkley telling the trooper about his sobriety before being handcuffed. It took six months for his blood work to confirm what he already knew — he was completely sober (11).

"I literally pulled over to the side of the interstate and cried," Binkley said.

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The wrongful arrests are now fueling a wave of federal lawsuits. Five sober drivers have filed suit against the Tennessee police agencies that arrested them, citing false arrest and unlawful seizure. One case has already been settled — Thomas Manis, who was arrested by THP troopers in Monroe County in 2023, received a $75,000 payout from the Tennessee Board of Claims.

Lewis, who saw more than 600 other cases in WSMV4's reporting, said the lawsuits are about forcing change from the top down.

"Somebody, starting with the Governor up, has got to do something in Tennessee," Lewis said.

McKenzie's warning is the one that lingers: "This could happen to your child. This could happen to your parent. This could happen to your co-worker."

Drivers should be aware that field sobriety tests — the walk-and-turn, one-leg stand, and similar roadside exercises — are voluntary in every U.S. state. According to the legal resource Justia's DUI & DWI Law Center, "field sobriety tests are voluntary, and completion of the tests is not required under the law" (12). There is no legal penalty for declining them, though officers are not required to tell you that, and in some states, your refusal can be noted in a police report or referenced in court.

Chemical tests are a different matter. Breathalyzers and blood draws are governed by implied consent laws, which means that once you are lawfully arrested for DUI, refusing a chemical test can trigger automatic penalties including license suspension — regardless of whether you were actually impaired.

If you are pulled over and asked to perform a field sobriety test, you have the right to politely decline. If arrested, document everything and contact an attorney immediately.

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We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

WSMV4 / Gray News (1); WSMV4 (2); WSMV4 (3); WSMV4 (4); JAMA Psychiatry (5); WVLT (6); WSMV4 (7); Cobb Defense (8); SafeHome.org (9); WSMV4 (10); WSMV4 (11); Justia (12)

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