By Sean Webby
Mercury News
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Newly obtained court documents show there was ample evidence a former San Jose police officer was drunk when she crashed her SUV in March, but police chose not to question her about alcohol use or test her blood.
Soon after Sandra Woodall’s March 25 multi-car accident, she told paramedics that she was just out of rehab, had consumed “a lot” of alcohol and was so disoriented that she thought it was 2006, according to documents. Both of the paramedics who treated Woodall noted the strong smell of alcohol on her breath.
Sgt. Will Manion — a well-regarded senior officer who was the police supervisor on the scene — noted none of these things. Instead, Manion seemed to EMTs to be coaching Woodall on the correct way to answer their questions. He later tried to prevent them from taking her to a hospital, an EMT alleged. Manion insisted that he had no evidence she was drunk, and was trying to determine whether she could be forced to go to the hospital against her will.
But instead of exploring the possibility that Woodall was intoxicated, officers at the scene concluded that the speeding accident could have been caused because Woodall was eating egg rolls from Jack in the Box while she was driving. They decided not even to cite her for speeding - an unusual conclusion in so dramatic an accident.
These explosive details and others came from court documents available for the first time Monday.
The reports are attached to the state Attorney General’s felony case — filed last week — alleging that Woodall was in fact drunk.
Police and prosecutors referred the case to the AG’s office soon after police command staff realized a former police officer was involved and the potential for a conflict of interest. Woodall is currently an investigator with the DA’s office.
A family affair
But the charge against Woodall and the accompanying documents may also show evidence that officers tried to protect one of their own from a drunken driving charge.
Woodall’s husband, Jason, is a sergeant in the department; her father-in-law is Jack Woodall, a former lieutenant in the police department and also a district attorney’s investigator.
And another major question remains: If there was officer wrongdoing, then who should continue the investigation?
When asked if they were investigating police conduct in the case, Gareth Lacy, a spokesman for the AG’s office, declined to comment.
“We can’t confirm or deny if there are any active investigations,” Lacy said. “If we have evidence of a crime, we investigate that evidence.”
Independent Police Auditor Barbara Attard said Monday that her office had received a complaint about the case and that an IPA official planned to sit in on the officer interviews by Internal Affairs investigators.
“We were very troubled when we learned of the details of the initial investigation,” Chief Rob Davis said Monday. “We have to maintain objectivity as we continue our investigation. Our department is fully prepared to take whatever actions are necessary from whatever we learn from the IA (Internal Affairs) investigation.”
The case was brought to the attention of police by an angry citizen. But the documents — all written by San Jose police department investigators — seem to show that paramedics were not pleased with the way officers handled the accident either.
To them, it was obvious that Woodall had been drinking, reports say.
Paramedic Garrett Cordes reported that Woodall smelled like alcohol, thought it was 2006 and had no recollection of being in the accident. Her Escalade — going almost 20 mph over the speed limit — rear-ended a car and careened over a median to strike another car.
Paramedic Andrea Ricks said Woodall was screaming obscenities at her, smelled like alcohol and told her she had just left rehab. When asked how much she had imbibed, Woodall responded “a lot.”
But in his report Manion says he did not think that Woodall — whom he later just refers to as “Sandy” — was drunk.
“I did not notice any odor of alcohol or slurred speech,” Manion writes. Nor did any officers or paramedics tell him they suspected she was drunk. Manion initially concluded her behavior and disorientation may have been caused by the trauma of the accident. Manion said he called Woodall’s husband and accompanied her to the hospital “as a courtesy.”
Manion reportedly started to coach Woodall as she tried to answer an EMT’s questions about the accident.
“Ricks told the officer that she can’t have him answer the questions for (Woodall) and that he was merely feeding responses to her,” the report said. Ricks said that she and Cordes eventually told the officer that Woodall’s medical care was their responsibility and they transported her over his objection.
Manion noted that EMT Ricks was glaring angrily at him when he arrived at the hospital “and appeared to be upset with me.” He said paramedics were trying to take Woodall to the hospital over her objections and that he agreed she should be taken there.
Second thoughts
Later an officer told Manion that at least one witness had said that Woodall may have been drinking.
“I immediately reflected back to my contact with Sandy to think if I missed any symptoms of alcohol use,” Manion wrote.
Manion concluded nothing could be done: It was too long after the accident to order a blood test. Maybe hospital personnel had taken blood, he noted. They hadn’t.
At least two other officers at the scene also reported they smelled no alcohol or saw signs that Woodall was drunk. But two of them pointedly noted that there was evidence she had been eating a Jack in the Box meal, including that her pocketbook was awash in ranch dressing.
“Based on the items I located and the condition they were found, I believed that Woodall was eating while she was driving,” the officer said. “I believe this inattentive driving was a serious factor in the collision.”
Manion — who had been on patrol for a single day after spending six years as one of the top detectives in the department’s homicide unit — and the other officers who responded to the accident remain on duty, according to police.