The Tennessee Highway Patrol made 41 DUI arrests in Bedford County, with more than half of the drivers either sober or within the legal limit.
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, neither drugs nor alcohol were in the driver’s system. Another 14 people had blood alcohol levels within the legal limit and no drugs were found. The remaining 19 cases were dropped for other reasons, including Pearl’s inability to appear in court or her inability to recall details of her arrest.
Pearl resigned from the Tennessee Highway Patrol in 2024. No reason was given, and there was no mention of a DUI case for his dismissal in his personnel file.
Ron LaFram was one of the drivers arrested in Pearl. His blood tests found nothing.
“I was surprised when he started asking me to do sobriety tests,” LaFram told WSMV4 Investigates. “This was a false arrest.”
LaFram said he never received an apology.
His attorney, David McKenzie, said word about Pearl’s firing rate had spread throughout Bedford County and that LaFram’s case was far from the only one in which the blood results came back clean.
“That tells me there’s a systemic problem with what he did on the side of the road,” McKenzie told WSMV4. “This could happen to your kids. This could happen to your parents. This could happen to your coworkers.”
Col. Matt Perry, chief of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, told WSMV4 Investigates that he doesn’t believe the driver who tested negative was actually sober. Neither Pearl nor THP responded to requests for comment.
Pearl is the latest officer to come to light in WSMV4’s ongoing “Sobering Questions” investigation, but data shows the problem extends far beyond one officer in one county.
New data released by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation shows that 419 sober drivers were arrested for DUI in Tennessee in 2024, the highest single-year total since WSMV4 began tracking these numbers. Of those, the Tennessee Highway Patrol made 180 arrests, more than any other agency in the state. The Knoxville area led the way with 41 sober arrests, followed by the Nashville area with 37 (two).
Since 2017, more than 2,500 Tennesseans have been arrested for driving under the influence, but blood tests later showed they had no alcohol or drugs in their system(3).
Former soldiers 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 led to false charges (4). Audio recordings obtained from Chattanooga THP Capt. Patrick Turner show him telling police to “arrest all the drunk drivers you can catch.”
“This is corruption. We are ruining people’s lives. We are 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 in 22 states, including Alabama, Hawaii, Florida and Iowa.
Part of the problem may be the test itself. A 2023 randomized clinical trial published in JAMA Psychiatry found that trained law enforcement officers classified 49.2% of fully awake participants as impaired based on field sobriety tests. When sober participants failed, officials suspected that 99% of them had used drugs—but none of them did (5).
In response to WSMV4 reporting, Tennessee Senator Raumesh Akbari passed legislation requiring the TBI to compile and publicly release sober DUI arrest data annually, broken down by agency (6).
“Tennessees deserve transparency and accountability when it comes to law enforcement,” Akbari said. “Trust is eroded when people begin to question whether an arrest was made for any reason other than public safety.”
Colonel Perry testified before state lawmakers in January 2026, his first public appearance to address the investigation. He insisted there was no quota system and said the agency had found no cases of inappropriate arrests
“We’re not hearing them say, ‘Yeah, this guy probably shouldn’t be arrested,'” Perry told lawmakers (7).
Even if the charges are eventually dropped, a DUI arrest triggers a series of costs that can take years to recover from.
The immediate expense alone is staggering. Towing and impound fees typically range from $200 to $500. Bail amounts range from $500 to $2,500. The average attorney’s fee for a DUI defense nationwide is about $3,150, but attorney’s fees for complex cases can be well over $10,000. Court and administrative fees add another $300 to $1,200. All in all, the cost of a DUI arrest can range from $10,000 to $25,000 in the first year (8) (9).
Stephen Smart knows the numbers firsthand. The Knoxville resident was arrested by state troopers in 2025 for driving under the influence. His blood tests came back negative for alcohol and drugs. By the time his case was settled, he had spent $10,500 in legal fees.
“I spent almost all my savings,” Smart told WSMV4 Investigates. “Then I had to start over.”
And then there’s insurance. A DUI arrest can increase car insurance premiums by 80% to 400%, and these rate increases typically last from 3 to 10 years. Many drivers pay more than $10,000 in additional premiums in the first three years alone. Some insurance companies are simply canceling policies, forcing drivers to insure high-risk SR-22s at higher rates.
The damage doesn’t stop when the charge disappears. Arrest records don’t always disappear with a dismissal. A DUI charge can show up on a background check 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 by Mount Juliet police for driving under the influence, said the experience left him unable to leave his home for nearly six months. Lewis, who suffers from neuropathy and has had six knee surgeries, was asked to perform field sobriety tests that required him to walk and stand on one leg. His blood tests later showed he had not consumed alcohol and had only taken painkillers (10).
“I had to see a special doctor. I couldn’t sleep. I’m still not back to normal,” Lewis said.
Carl Binkley, a recovering heroin addict who had been sober for six years, was arrested by a THP police officer in Coffee County for driving under the influence. Body camera footage shows Binkley telling police he was sober before being handcuffed. Six months later, his blood tests confirmed what he already knew—he was fully conscious (11).
“I literally pulled over to the interstate and cried,” Binkley said.
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The wrongful arrests are now sparking a wave of federal lawsuits. Five sober drivers filed a lawsuit against the Tennessee police agency that arrested them, citing wrongful arrest and unlawful seizure. One of the cases has been settled – Thomas Manis, who was arrested by THP troopers in Monroe County in 2023, received $75,000 from the Tennessee Claims Commission.
Lewis, who has seen more than 600 other cases reported by WSMV4, said the lawsuits are aimed at forcing top-down change.
“Someone has to do something in Tennessee, starting with the governor,” Lewis said.
McKenzie’s warning lingers: “This could happen to your kids. This could happen to your parents. This could happen to your coworkers.”
Drivers should be aware that field sobriety tests—walking turns, one-leg stands, and similar roadside exercises—are voluntary in every state in the United States. According to legal resource Justia’s DUI and DWI Law Center, “Field sobriety tests are voluntary and are not required by law to be completed” (12). There are no legal penalties for refusing them, although officers are not required to tell you this, and in some states, your refusal can be noted in a police report or cited in court.
Chemical testing is another story. Breathalyzers and blood draws are governed by implied consent laws, which means that once you’ve been lawfully arrested for driving under the influence, refusing a chemical test can trigger automatic penalties, including a driver’s 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 refuse. If arrested, document everything and contact an attorney immediately.
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WSMV4 / Gray News (1); WSMV4(2); WSMV4(3); WSMV4(4); Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry (5); watt lt (6); WSMV4(7); Cobb Defense (8); safehome.org (9); WSMV4(10); WSMV4(11); Justia (12)
This article provides information only and should not be considered advice. It is provided without any warranty of any kind.
