Goodlettsville, Tenn.- On the morning of September 6, 2023, at 5:52 AM, Jeff Adams was in the middle of his first job when he noticed blue lights flashing in his rearview mirror.

For 29 years, Adams has been a 6th-grade teacher at Brentwood Middle School, and he also drives for Uber to supplement his income.

As he recounted, the officer who approached him, Noah Werner from the Goodlettsville police, first inquired whether Adams had been drinking.

“I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I don’t do drugs,” Adams can be heard stating in a cell phone video taken by another officer at the scene.

However, Officer Werner noted that he had seen Adams swerving, prompting the teacher to offer to take a field sobriety test.

“I thought I could pass it. I hadn’t been drinking,” Adams explained. “I was heading to school, and it was 5:52 a.m.”

The cell phone footage reveals that Adams struggled with the one-legged balance test, and his shock is clear when Werner instructs him to place his hands behind his back.

“You’re under arrest for a DUI,” Werner states in the video.

“Sir, I haven’t had a drink,” Adams replied. It would take four months for him to prove that he was telling the truth. Both his alcohol and toxicology tests confirmed he was completely sober.

Despite this, Officer Werner noted several signs of impairment in the affidavit for Adams’ arrest. Ultimately, the charges against him were dismissed, but the damage had already been done.

Following the arrest, Adams was suspended from driving for Uber, which he estimates resulted in about $15,000 in lost income.

Although Brentwood Middle School did not terminate his employment while the case was pending, he worried about his students discovering what had happened.

“It’s the most traumatic experience. Knowing that I’m being arrested, fingerprinted, and mugshotted,” Adams said, his voice breaking. “A man’s reputation and name are all he has, and mine is being tarnished. I didn’t deserve that.”

“It’s really emotional,” WSMV4 Investigates remarked.

“It is,” Adams replied.

Additionally, a WSMV4 investigation revealed that Adams was not the only one whose DUI arrest was dismissed or unable to be prosecuted in 2023.

An examination of Officer Werner’s DUI arrests revealed that two other sober individuals were arrested by him in 2023.

“There’s a problem. There’s a pattern here,” Adams stated.

WSMV4 Investigates sought an interview with Officer Werner, but his superior, Police Chief Gary Goodwin, agreed to respond to questions instead.

In reviewing the cases, Chief Goodwin acknowledged that the drivers deserved an apology.

“I truly regret that, and I feel deeply for what they experienced,” Goodwin told WSMV4 Investigates.

“If there was just one case, it might be different. But here you have three sober individuals arrested for DUI by this officer. What does that suggest to you?” WSMV4 Investigates asked.

“It doesn’t necessarily indicate anything specific, but it is certainly concerning. You feel for these three individuals,” Goodwin responded.

He characterized Werner as a relatively new officer who is diligent, compassionate, and eager to perform well in his role.

“He doesn’t want to arrest anyone who shouldn’t be,” Goodwin stated.

The police chief also expressed his frustration with the entire situation.

In the affidavits for the three drivers, Officer Werner indicated that each exhibited signs of impairment. In one instance, a driver had a half-empty beer can in the door compartment.

However, all were ultimately determined to be sober. “I’m reviewing these cases, and I’m unsure how to resolve this,” Goodwin admitted.

An ongoing WSMV4 Investigation revealed that police departments across Middle Tennessee have arrested sober individuals for DUIs. Due to a backlog at the TBI for alcohol and toxicology reports, some innocent drivers are waiting as long as eight months to receive their results.

In numerous instances, sober drivers have requested breathalyzers, but some police departments are not utilizing them, which the TBI finds puzzling.

In the cell phone video, Adams can be heard asking for a breathalyzer.

“Do you have a breathalyzer or something I can take?” Adams inquires.

“We’ll take care of that,” Werner replied.

However, that was not the case. Body camera footage shows Adams in a hospital undergoing a blood draw before being taken to jail.

“Why not use a breathalyzer each time? It would at least indicate if the person had been drinking,” WSMV4 Investigates asked.

“Many of the individuals we encounter now are under the influence, and it’s not always alcohol,” Goodwin explained.

Goodwin emphasizes that a blood test is the only definitive way to confirm whether someone is impaired, whether due to alcohol, illegal drugs, or improper use of prescription medications.

Yet, he grapples with the reality of innocent individuals being arrested for such a serious offense.

“I can’t help but put myself in their shoes. How would I feel if this happened to me?” Goodwin reflected.

Adams, on the other hand, knows all too well how that feels, especially every time he drives past the location of his arrest.

“Sometimes I’ll refer to it as the scene of the crime. It was. It was a crime against me,” Adams said.