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[Carrie McLaren <carrie AT stayfreemagazine.org>]

Chicago Daily Herald
May 18, 2002, Saturday F1,F2,DuPage,M1

Judge says gorilla suit doesn't alter DUI test

by Charles Keeshan



A McHenry County judge had no tolerance for a Chicago man charged 
with driving drunk while dressed as a gorilla.  

Judge Thomas Baker refused to throw out the evidence against Sean M. 
Collins, who argued in court Friday it was his ape costume, not 
intoxication, that caused him to fail a series of sobriety tests 
during an October 2000 traffic stop.  

Collins, 26, was arrested for driving under the influence and 
speeding in the early morning hours of Oct. 20, 2000, after a McHenry 
County Sheriff's Deputy clocked him driving 76 mph through a 45 mph 
zone near Wonder Lake.  At the time, Collins said in court Friday, he 
was driving from a nearby Halloween party still in full gorilla 
get-up, minus the mask.  
Arresting officer Deputy Robert Chamberlain testified he suspected 
Collins was intoxicated almost immediately from the strong odor of 
alcohol on his breath and his bloodshot, glassy eyes. A series of 
tests, including walking a straight line and standing on one foot, 
confirmed the suspicion, the deputy said.  

Chamberlain testified Collins performed and failed those tests while 
wearing the gorilla costume, including what his attorney described as 
"large, furry feet," even though he was offered a chance to remove 
it.  

"He said to me he wouldn't take them off," said Chamberlain, who 
admitted having some experience dressing in a gorilla outfit. "They 
did not impede the bottom of his shoes or the way he walked."  

Collins blew a .180 - more than twice the legal limit of .08 - in a 
Breathalyzer test later that morning, according to court records.  

But Collins' attorney, William Gracik, argued Friday that there 
should have never been a Breathalyzer because the arrest was illegal. 
Testing a man in a gorilla suit, he said, is far out of line with 
police standards.  

"If he deviated from those standards, the tests are inherently not 
valid," Gracik added. "Clearly, in the officer's own testimony, the 
footwear can affect the (test) results."  

Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Adrian Gosch said wearing a 
gorilla suit is not a valid excuse for failing sobriety tests, 
including the one Collins failed that had nothing to do with walking 
or standing.

"Even the defendant testified that the gorilla feet didn't affect his 
performance on all these tests," he said.

Baker sided with the prosecution, saying Chamberlain had more than 
enough reason to pull over Collins and arrest him for driving under 
the influence.