THP troopers sued for arresting a sober driver for DUI

MONROE COUNTY, Tenn. (WSMV) - Angela Manis was not having it. On the morning of Dec. 29, 2023, the Monroe County mother was driving on US 411 when she passed her son, Thomas, while he was being arrested by the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Body camera footage shows Manis parked on the shoulder of the road ahead of the traffic stop and begins to approach.

One of the troopers, Riley Shreiner, cautions her to get back into her vehicle, which she does. When Shreiner comes to the side of Manis’ widow, she asks why her son had been arrested.

“For driving under the influence, ma’am,” Shreiner says in the video.

“He has not been drinking, sir!” Manis responds, explaining that her son had just woken up.

Moments later, Manis warns the trooper.

“I’m just saying, if you have falsely arrested him, you’re going to be in trouble,” she said.

“Ok ma’am,” Shreiner said.

“I promise you, because I know my son,” Manis said.

What followed would result in a federal lawsuit against Shreiner and veteran DUI officer Trooper William “Billy” Yates-Matoy, as blood work would later show that Thomas Manis was sober at the time of his arrest. Body camera footage of the arrest, obtained by WSMV4 Investigates, also shows Trooper Shreiner turning off the audio on his body camera, including when a tow truck driver asks if Manis was drunk.

A spokesman for the THP said they could not comment because of the pending lawsuit. Scott Kanavos, the attorney for Manis, said he could not comment beyond what is stated in the lawsuit and would not allow his client to be interviewed.

According to the body camera, Shreiner pulled over Manis because the tint on his windows was too dark.

“Have you had anything to drink at all?” Shreiner asks.

“No sir,” Manis responds.

When Shreiner returns to his car, he tells Trooper Yates-Matoy, who is sitting in the passenger seat, that he doesn’t smell any marijuana.

After Shreiner reads out Manis’ name out loud, Yates-Matoy says he knows Manis’ brother.

“Probably got weed, probably high,” Yates-Matoy said. “Guarantee he smoked weed today.”

The statement is the second time WSMV4 Investigates had documented in our “Sobering Problems” investigation in which an officer assumes a driver is drunk and arrests him for DUI, only to later learn the driver had been sober the entire time.

The body camera video shows Shreiner returns to once more question Manis.

“What makes you think I’m under the influence of anything?” Manis asks.

“You’ve got slightly red eyes and a highly red hue on around your eyes,” Shreiner said.

“I just woke up,” Manis responds.

Manis then undergoes a field sobriety test conducted by Shreiner, with Yates-Matoy watching.

According to the lawsuit, Manis successfully passed all of the field sobriety tests, but the body camera footage shows Yates-Matoy turning his thumb down repeatedly.

Yates-Matoy, who is a decorated DUI enforcement officer, then begins to question Manis.

“When was the last time you smoked marijuana?” Yates-Matoy asks.

“Not anytime soon. I’d say probably about four years ago,” Manis said.

Yates-Matoy then asks, “If I did a blood test on you right now –”

“Would come back clear,” Manis responds.

The troopers then instruct Manis to sit on the bumper while they go to talk at the back of the vehicle.

At that point, Shreiner turns off the audio on his body camera, which remains off for thirty seconds as he talks to Yates-Matoy. Manis is visibly astonished when he is then arrested and put in the back of the trooper’s vehicle. “Is there any way to do a breathalyzer?” Manis asks.

“We can’t. We don’t do breathalyzers, sir,” Shreiner said.

Our “Sobering Problem” investigation revealed outrage from sober drivers when they found out some police departments don’t use breathalyzers.

Manis’ mother asks the same question.

“Did you give him a breathalyzer?” she asks.

“No, we don’t do breathalyzers,” Shreiner said.

“Did you give him a, this is not right,” she said. “How can you do this?”

Our investigation found that police departments feel blood tests are the best option, as they will show both alcohol in drugs, but a backlog at the TBI means people are waiting months to get the results, losing jobs and insurance while waiting.

After Manis is arrested and a tow truck driver arrives to take his car, the driver can be hearing asking Shreiner, “Was he drunk?”

Once again, Shreiner turns off the audio when he responds.

WSMV4 Investigates has filed an open records request for the THP’s policy for turning off body camera audio and why the department no longer uses breathalyzers.

If this has happened to you or you want us to know something, please email Jeremy.finley@wsmv.com.

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