Officer FIRED After Arresting Sober Driver For Retaliation! (Backfires in Court)

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]On October 6th, 2025 in Grayson, Kentucky, Nathaniel Stevens was struck by a 17-year-old driver who backed out of a driveway on Nate's own street.

[00:00:08]After exchanging information with the other driver, Nate briefly left to get a drink and returned just as police arrived to take a report. Officer Michael Bell of the Grayson Police Department then shifted his attention away from the driver who caused the accident and began a DUI investigation of the victim. The interaction that followed was captured on officer body camera.

[00:00:29]I'm not this.

[00:00:30]>> If I get a PBT, we blow into it.

[00:00:32]>> Yeah, absolutely. Okay.

[00:00:33]>> I not yet.

[00:00:39]>> I'll get it just like Same thing I was telling you.

[00:01:20]>> Take a deep breath. Don't worry about stop.

[00:01:22]>> Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going.

[00:01:27]Stop.

[00:01:31]All right.

[00:01:59]All right. Are you going to participate in any other kind of testing, >> sir?

[00:02:03]>> Are you going to participate in any other kind of testing?

[00:02:05]>> No, sir.

[00:02:08]We're going to be making a phone call as we speak.

[00:02:15]>> What's your name?

[00:02:17]>> Bale. It's right here.

[00:02:18]>> Okay. What's your name?

[00:02:19]>> Sergeant Hall.

[00:02:19]>> Okay.

[00:02:23]>> If he shows up, he's a witness, so he can't represent you anyway.

[00:02:34]>> I mean, I'm not I'm not >> Grace, was you anything back with that name in >> Do I just came through? Um, it looks like Nathaniel R. Steven, Severville, Tennessee. He is valid.

[00:02:56]Negative 29 >> 10.

[00:03:05]It's not that big a deal.

[00:03:09]>> I mean, [ __ ] You're making this a big deal.

[00:03:11]>> No, because this is my No, I'm not.

[00:03:16]Okay.

[00:03:18]>> So, is he going to do it?

[00:03:20]>> I don't think so.

[00:03:22]>> You did leave the scene of an accident.

[00:03:25]>> So, >> so if I do them, are we good? Like, >> and if you're not impaired, you'll pass, >> brother. I swear to God, >> then everything's fine. Okay.

[00:03:32]>> But if not, then we have to >> Okay, then let's do them. I don't give a [ __ ] >> Okay. All right.

[00:03:38]>> It's that easy. All right. You turn over and just put your back against the truck. Just lean off of it for me. Yep.

[00:03:43]>> Tilt right up for me.

[00:03:44]>> Don't lean off the truck. Yeah. Lean off the truck. Just keep her back there. So tip his finger horizon on. Okay. Don't move her head.

[00:04:20]Snake got me nervous.

[00:04:25]Performing these tests on a nerve won't work. Look up.

[00:04:39]Awesome.

[00:04:42]Shaking. Nervous. Okay.

[00:05:08]We're good. I'm more like sitting up right here. Yep. Go straight up.

[00:05:20]So with these tests, nerves tiredness doesn't play any play into it. What I'm looking for >> definitely nerves.

[00:05:26]>> Okay. So what I'm looking for is involuntary move of the eyes.

[00:05:28]Nervousness, drowsiness, it's not something you can practice. What it does is something in your system >> that causes it and it's a sign of impairment. Okay. It's called horizontal gase of stagnance.

[00:05:37]>> Yep.

[00:05:37]>> Okay.

[00:05:38]>> I'm seeing horizontal gase of stagnance in your eyes.

[00:05:45]So, have you taken anything in your show?

[00:05:47]>> Dude, I literally teach people to work out like >> No, my herbs that I take every day, you know.

[00:05:53]>> But you haven't had anything.

[00:05:54]>> No. Hang on the Bible.

[00:05:58]Hey, William. So, long story short, I was leaving the house and I was probably a couple houses down and a guy was pulling in the driveway and backed out and hit me. And now, so I [ __ ] up, you know what I mean? And kind of went to the store and got a pop and came back. Well, I'm down here.

[00:06:18]They're doing a police report. And now these guys are like, you know, I just had to take a breathalyzer and they're doing all these tests and they're trying to say I'm impaired, which I'm not.

[00:06:31]Well, I did. And this guy's trying to say that I'm being kind of iffy about these tests.

[00:06:38]I'm tired. I'm I mean I I'm just [ __ ] nervous, you know what I mean? I don't like cops. Like I have nothing to hide from these fellas, you know? They seem like nice guys, you know?

[00:06:47]>> But I'm the one that got hit, you know?

[00:06:50]>> Uh I'm just kind of >> some kid down the street.

[00:07:01]>> I need to finish these if you're willing to.

[00:07:04]>> You You're sitting here trying to say I'm impaired though that that I was actually Time to finish my observation.

[00:07:10]>> There's your observation.

[00:07:11]>> I've got two more clues I need to look for if you're willing to do it.

[00:07:15]>> I really don't want to cuz dude, I'm not impaired. I have no reason to do these tests.

[00:07:18]>> You have proof of insurance registration.

[00:07:20]>> Let's address two things here. First, the breathalyzer result. Nate blue zero.

[00:07:26]Under the Fourth Amendment, a lawful DUI detention requires reasonable, articulable suspicion of impairment.

[00:07:32]Specific, observable facts pointing toward a crime. Belle's stated reasons were that Nate seemed erratic, was stumbling, and smelled of alcohol. The body camera footage contradicts every one of those claims, and now the breathalyzer has confirmed zero alcohol.

[00:07:48]What remained of Belle's reasonable suspicion at this moment based on the footage? Nothing. Second, and this cannot be glossed over, the claim that a defense attorney showing up to represent his client would automatically become a witness and be disqualified from the case is not a legal standard. It is not a rule. It is not a gray area. It is a statement Bel invented on the spot to frighten Nate out of exercising his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to the assistance of counsel, telling a citizen that invoking that right will backfire against him is bad faith intimidation and it belongs in the record of who officer Bell is.

[00:08:36]I'm getting his registration.

[00:08:38]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:08:49]>> I need the registration, too.

[00:08:52]>> I know.

[00:08:56]Yes, sir. Okay.

[00:08:57]>> I need the registration.

[00:09:03]Six.

[00:09:15]>> All right.

[00:09:25]Central 312.

[00:09:28]Go ahead.

[00:09:32]>> I have 47 information ready if you need.

[00:09:40]>> And we'll go ahead with >> Robert King 042 expired 430 26 on a 2010 Toyota Tundra gray in color to a Christopher Isaac of Grayson.

[00:09:57]insurance. Yes. No.

[00:10:04]>> Well, somebody hit me down the street on a road and I went got a cop, came back.

[00:10:16]>> All right. Here.

[00:10:20]>> I don't know. I'm at the I'm at the edge of the hill right here.

[00:10:24]Let me know.

[00:10:27]Yeah, somebody hit me and I got two cops surrounding me for I don't do an investigation.

[00:10:33]>> All right.

[00:10:37]>> All right. So, you're not willing to do any other tests?

[00:10:38]>> I mean, what do I got to do, brother? I I'll do them. Like, I don't What do I got to do?

[00:10:43]>> Well, there's two more observations.

[00:10:44]One's called a walk and turn. The other one's one leg standing. Are you willing to do those?

[00:10:48]>> Sure.

[00:10:49]>> Okay.

[00:10:51]All right, man. Stand right where my light is. Turn around. Face me. What you're going to do is go ahead and put your left foot in front of your right foot like so. Go ahead and put your left foot in front of your right foot. Don't start till I tell you to begin. We're going to keep our hands down to our sides. What you're going to do is you're going to take nine heel to toe steps forward, keeping heel to toe. You're going to count them per step.

[00:11:12]>> Okay. Once you reach your last step, you're going to take a series of small steps and do nine heel toe steps back.

[00:11:18]Okay?

[00:11:19]>> Okay. It's going to look like this. One, two, three. Three. I stop at three. You will continue to nine. Okay. Left foot plant. You're going to take a series of small steps.

[00:11:29]One, two, three. Do you understand?

[00:11:33]>> Nine to nine.

[00:11:35]>> Okay. All right. You may begin.

[00:11:36]>> Say them out loud.

[00:11:37]>> Yes, sir.

[00:11:38]>> Okay. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. Spin around.

[00:11:46]Correct.

[00:11:49]One, two, three, four, five, six.

[00:11:56]>> Okay.

[00:11:58]>> All right. Do you want to do the last one >> with the footstand?

[00:12:01]>> Yeah.

[00:12:01]>> Let's do it.

[00:12:02]>> All right.

[00:12:04]What you going to do? Do you >> stand right here?

[00:12:07]>> All right. If you're going to kick a soccer ball, which leg would you use?

[00:12:10]>> I don't kick a soccer ball.

[00:12:12]>> Okay. So, you're going to use a foot of your choice. Either one.

[00:12:15]>> Just do right.

[00:12:16]>> Okay. What you're going to do is you're going to lift that foot 6 in off the ground about the height of a pop can.

[00:12:21]>> My right foot.

[00:12:22]>> Whichever foot you want.

[00:12:23]>> You're going to keep that toe pointed parallel with the ground. I want you to look at your toe and I want you to count till 30.

[00:12:29]>> You're going to count tit to stop. Okay.

[00:12:31]Going to keep you straight out in front of you. Once again, we'll keep our hands down to our side.

[00:12:34]>> Like this.

[00:12:35]>> Okay.

[00:12:36]>> 30.

[00:12:36]>> Yes.

[00:12:37]>> Or tit to stop.

[00:12:38]>> Okay.

[00:12:39]>> Okay.

[00:12:41]>> Ready?

[00:12:41]>> Ready?

[00:12:42]>> Ready?

[00:12:43]>> Go.

[00:12:44]One, two, three, four, five, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30. Good.

[00:13:13]Hi, man.

[00:13:13]>> Yep.

[00:13:14]>> So, you've not had anything today, >> brother. What do you think? I've told you this eight times.

[00:13:18]>> I know what I think. I want to know what you think.

[00:13:20]>> I'll tell you what it is now.

[00:13:22]>> Okay.

[00:13:22]>> And I want your badge numbers. Whenever you guys have done >> it'll be on the citation I want to give you. Good.

[00:13:26]>> Um, >> citation for what?

[00:13:30]>> I'll explain all that when I give it to you.

[00:13:32]>> Okay.

[00:13:33]>> Okay.

[00:13:34]Um, is it that hard? We got >> No, brother. I'm not trying to be a [ __ ] I got [ __ ] to do.

[00:13:40]>> Understand that. But here's the thing.

[00:13:42]based off if you didn't do any kind of observation test, I had enough to arrest you and place you under arrest for DUI.

[00:13:47]>> Okay.

[00:13:47]>> Okay. So, you'd have been going to jail.

[00:13:49]>> You would have got sued.

[00:13:51]>> That's a qualified immunity. I wouldn't have got sued, but Okay. Uh, you know, again, I'm going to go over here and I'm going to write you a ticket. I'm going to finish getting their information.

[00:14:00]>> What's the ticket for?

[00:14:01]>> Uh, I'll explain it to you when I give it to you.

[00:14:02]>> Explain it now.

[00:14:03]>> No, I'll explain it to you when I give it to you. Uh, you're going to wait here. Um, and I'll be right back with you.

[00:14:10]What you just watched was a man pass three standardized field sobriety tests after already blowing zero on a breathalyzer. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which developed these tests, is clear about what they measure. The walk-in turn and one leg stand assess divided attention, the ability to follow instructions while performing a physical task. The HGN test looks for involuntary eye movement associated with central nervous system depressants. Nate showed none of the clues these tests are designed to detect. Belle even acknowledged it on camera, telling Nate moments after the one leg stand that if he hadn't taken the tests, he would have been arrested.

[00:14:48]But now he won't be. That statement is critical. It is Belle himself confirming on body camera that Nate passed. We will come back to this in the verdict.

[00:15:00]>> Okay.

[00:15:04]All right, man. Did you get that insurance?

[00:15:08]I think so.

[00:15:16]All right. So, what's going to happen within the next 3 or 4 days? Uh you'll be able to go down the city building down or the police department. You'll go in there and you'll talk to our office clerk in there. She'll be able to get your copy report. Just give us about three or four days. Okay. Okay. Um other than that, y'all's good to go. I want to, you know, issue some citations and he'll be good to go to as well. All right. Have a good day.

[00:16:36]Thank you.

[00:16:45]All right.

[00:16:47]So, remember I told you this stuff's going to be on a citation. Okay. It is.

[00:16:51]But also after speaking with another officer on scene, you are going to end up going to jail tonight. Okay.

[00:16:58]>> What?

[00:16:59]>> Matt, put the phone down. Turn around.

[00:17:01]>> No. Hold on.

[00:17:02]>> Turn around.

[00:17:03]>> Turn around. Put your hands down.

[00:17:12]>> Why? Why am I going to jail?

[00:17:14]>> Don't tense up.

[00:17:15]>> Why though?

[00:17:16]>> I'll explain that in a minute.

[00:17:25]You're under Carol. I'm going to jail.

[00:17:29]>> Yeah. I don't know why.

[00:17:31]>> Quit trying to pull away from me.

[00:17:34]>> You got your body coming on.

[00:17:38]>> Okay.

[00:17:43]Got >> anything on you that's going to poke stick me? Okay.

[00:17:58]What's the point of that?

[00:18:00]>> You're going the drag. You don't need it. I'm running all over this car.

[00:18:04]>> Oh, okay. You need my phone, please, sir.

[00:18:06]>> No, that's okay.

[00:18:13]>> I do want the phone.

[00:18:22]Go to sleep for me. Watch your head.

[00:18:27]Two things happened in that sequence that demand direct attention. First, Belle deliberately covered his body camera microphone during his conversation with Sergeant Hall. The exact conversation that immediately preceded the decision to arrest a man who had just passed every test administered to him. There were no new facts after that covered conversation.

[00:18:46]No new observations, no new evidence of impairment. The only thing that changed was that Nate had mentioned suing.

[00:18:52]Second, the body camera footage shows no pulling away from Belle. Nate's hands are already compliant when he is shoved into the truck. In Tennessee versus Garner decided in 1985, the Supreme Court held that force must be objectively reasonable under the circumstances known to the officer at the time. Belle's statement, "Quit trying to pull away from me," appears on the footage to be a false justification applied to force that had no legitimate basis. That is not a minor credibility problem. That is the pattern this entire stop is built on.

[00:19:22]Can't believe I forgot.

[00:19:27]I thought it was going to be a few minutes.

[00:19:31]Didn't realize he was going to get hell over now.

[00:20:15]Yeah, guess we get a signal 40 for this one.

[00:20:27]>> 312 guys.

[00:20:32]>> I'll have uh the Tennessee ON 10:15.

[00:20:37]If you would go and start the next signal 40 for the climber.

[00:20:53]Yeah, just give him over an extra blood.

[00:21:04]Say whatever's in there is what he took back to the house. Say whatever's in there is what he took and dropped off.

[00:21:22]They can't put it in property. They don't let him have it.

[00:21:43]No clue.

[00:21:47]>> All right, sir. So, what's going to happen is, uh, you're obviously going to jail tonight. Uh, we're impounding your truck, so it'll be at the Grayson impound. Uh, registered home.

[00:21:56]>> I can't I can't have my cousin. I can't I live at the end of the street. No, it was using the commission of crime. So, it's going to the impound lot.

[00:22:02]>> A crime?

[00:22:03]>> My crime?

[00:22:04]>> DUI?

[00:22:05]>> DUI?

[00:22:06]>> Yes.

[00:22:06]>> I'm not under the influence.

[00:22:07]>> Okay.

[00:22:08]>> [ __ ] Is that literally what you guys are arresting me for?

[00:22:10]>> One of the reasons.

[00:22:11]>> For under what? What circumstance?

[00:22:14]>> What do you mean what circumstance?

[00:22:15]>> Like I What did I blow on the test?

[00:22:18]>> There's many more than that.

[00:22:20]>> [ __ ] test me.

[00:22:22]>> That's where we're going. We're going to go to Kenny's daughters where I'll read you some information. Requested Smith to test your daughter.

[00:22:27]>> Actually, I'm not doing [ __ ] without my lawyer. Okay, that's fine. But I still got to take you down there.

[00:22:30]>> Okay.

[00:22:31]>> Um, so the registered owner of that vehicle, >> this is my cousin.

[00:22:35]>> They'll be at the ones go to the impound lot tomorrow and get it out. But they'll have to have all the information with it. Okay.

[00:22:39]>> I want y'all as bad as them.

[00:22:40]>> Okay.

[00:22:41]>> Yeah. Let's go back.

[00:22:44]>> Yeah. You're right on that.

[00:22:48]You got to work these.

[00:22:50]>> Yes. You got to turn these off.

[00:22:53]>> Turn what off? These phones.

[00:22:56]Uh try to hold two buttons at once.

[00:23:16]>> This ain't going to work. How do you turn this phone off?

[00:23:19]>> 312.

[00:23:20]>> Huh?

[00:23:20]>> Sorry.

[00:23:20]>> How do you turn this phone off?

[00:23:22]>> Why do you need to turn it off?

[00:23:23]>> Save your battery.

[00:23:24]>> Good. I need to hit the power button.

[00:23:26]>> I have Morgan then out for the Tundra.

[00:23:31]>> The power button right there. Yep, that would be it. Hold it.

[00:23:39]>> [ __ ] it. Leave it. I mean, who cares?

[00:23:42]Just >> It don't matter.

[00:23:45]>> Okay, I'll let it die.

[00:23:51]>> I just don't know if it's cool enough.

[00:23:54]That's not too wrap it up.

[00:24:39]probably better.

[00:24:47]>> Okay.

[00:24:50]Okay.

[00:24:55]Who's that woods guy he was talking about? He used to be a judge.

[00:25:36]What is it?

[00:25:43]Hey, Carol right there. That's the owner of the car. That would be her.

[00:25:48]>> That's somebody to it.

[00:25:51]>> That's somebody he knows.

[00:25:55]>> What is it?

[00:25:56]>> That is the owner of the truck. Guy in the car right there. That would be the owner of the truck. Well, it's going to them.

[00:26:10]>> You pick it up city lot tomorrow.

[00:26:12]>> What now?

[00:26:13]>> He's picking up the city in town lot tomorrow.

[00:26:15]>> Okay. What's going on?

[00:26:16]>> I mean, unless he tells me it's okay to tell you. I can't tell you today.

[00:26:19]>> Oh, okay. Well, I was in a dead sleep.

[00:26:22]I've been up like all night and mommy Kevin got me. She said he's getting locked up for wrecking or something. Did he wreck?

[00:26:29]>> Well, he did wreck, but that's not the main reason he's going to.

[00:26:33]>> The truck impound is the final act in the sequence, and it follows the same logic as everything before it, which is to say it follows no logic at all. Nate blew zero. He passed every field sobriety test. Bel himself said on camera that he passed. The justification for impound was that the vehicle was used in the commission of a DUI, but there was no DUI. The truck's registered owner was present on the same street and could have driven it 10 ft into a driveway. In Colorado versus Bertine, decided in 1987, the Supreme Court held that vehicle empoundment must be based on standardized procedures and cannot be used as a pretext for investigative or punitive purposes. Towing a truck that lives on the same street whose registered owner is standing right there while the driver has committed no demonstrated crime has no caretaking justification. It is a tax on the exercise of rights. Before the verdict, you need to know how this ended. Nate hired an attorney. That attorney brought this body camera footage into court, and during cross-examination, Belle's written police report was placed side by side with what the camera actually captured. Belle had written that Nate failed the walk-in turn, that he stepped off the line, could not maintain balance during instructions, and used his arms to balance. The footage shows a clean, accurate performance from start to finish. Bel had written that Nate failed the one leg stand by using his arms to balance. On camera, Nate's arms do not move, not once. The judge saw what we all just saw. All DUI charges and related charges against Nathaniel Stevens were dismissed. Complete vindication. And officer Michael Bell is no longer employed by the Grayson Police Department, terminated following the public exposure of this incident and a documented pattern of similar civil rights violations. This is what happens when the camera is on and someone fights back. Nathaniel Stevens gets an A. He was the victim of a minor accident on his own street and from the moment police arrived, he was the one treated as a suspect. He invoked his right to counsel early and consistently. He eventually agreed to every test offered, not because he was required to, but because he knew he had nothing to hide, and he passed all of them cleanly. When he was told he would be arrested anyway, he remained cooperative. He asked questions. He documented everything. His one so-called offense was mentioning that Belle could be sued, which appears to have been the trigger for everything that followed. Knowing your rights is not a crime. Saying them out loud is not an act of aggression. Nate Stevens conducted himself with more restraint and dignity than the officers who were supposed to be protecting him. And a court ultimately confirmed that every charge against him was baseless. Officer Michael Bell gets an F. The legal standard for initiating a DUI investigation is reasonable, articulable suspicion. Specific, observable facts suggesting impairment. Belle had none that held up to scrutiny. He claimed Nate was erratic and stumbling. The footage shows the opposite. He claimed he could smell alcohol. The breathalyzer returned zero. He told Nate on camera that a lawyer coming to the scene would become a witness and couldn't represent him. A statement with no basis in law, designed purely to isolate Nate from counsel. He administered three field sobriety tests. Nate passed all three and Belle acknowledged it out loud. Then Belle covered his microphone, walked back, and arrested the man who had done exactly what Hall told him to do. A supervisor's function is to be the check on exactly this kind of escalation. Hall failed that function completely. His subsequent participation in the impound decision and his vague, evasive responses to Nate's direct questions about the grounds of his arrest suggests this was not passive failure, but active involvement. The grade is not an F only because the documented direct misconduct belongs to Bell. But Hall was standing right there. He outranked Bell and he said nothing. Let us know if there is an interaction or legal topic you would like to discuss in the comments below.

[00:30:20]Thank you for watching and don't forget to subscribe to Legal Logic for weekly police accountability analysis.