The driver refused to undergo a medical examination for drug intoxication due to police pressure, but took tests the next day – did he avoid punishment?

The Bila Tserkva City District Court of Kyiv region considered a case of an administrative offense under part one of Article 130 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses regarding the driver of a Mazda 626 vehicle.

Circumstances of the case

According to the administrative offense protocol series EPR1 No. 609305 dated March 8, 2026, at 11:30 a.m. on the M-05 Kyiv-Odesa highway, 78 km, the driver was operating the vehicle with obvious signs of drug intoxication: constricted pupils unresponsive to light, pronounced trembling of the fingers, unnatural paleness. The driver refused to undergo a medical examination for drug intoxication at the nearest healthcare facility.

At the court hearing, the driver did not admit guilt. He explained that during the stop he agreed to undergo an examination to determine the state of drug intoxication. However, after one of the police officers went to the service vehicle, another police officer, according to him, exerted psychological pressure, threatening to tow the vehicle to the impound lot and to deliver him to the territorial recruitment center. After that, the driver changed his position and refused the examination. The next day, March 9, 2026, he independently went to the DILA medical laboratory, where urine tests showed no presence of drugs.

The driver's defender filed a motion to close the proceedings in the case due to the absence of the elements and occurrence of an administrative offense. He pointed to the illegality of the vehicle stop, lack of grounds stipulated by Article 35 of the Law of Ukraine "On the National Police," provocative actions of the police, interruptions in video recording of key moments of communication, as well as the fact that the refusal to undergo the examination was obtained under psychological pressure, not voluntarily.

At the court hearing, the police officers who drew up the protocol were questioned, video recordings from body cameras were reviewed, the referral for examination, the response from Tarashcha City Hospital, and the results of the laboratory examination were examined.

Court decision

The court closed the proceedings in the administrative offense case against the driver under part one of Article 130 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses based on point 1 of part one of Article 247 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses due to the absence of the elements of an administrative offense.

The court found that the police officers did not provide proper, admissible, and reliable evidence confirming the driver's state of drug intoxication and the legality of his refusal to undergo a medical examination. The videos show that after the driver's initial consent to the examination, communication occurred with one of the police officers outside the scope of video recording, after which the officer informed his partner of the intention to offer the examination again, indicating possible provocation and psychological pressure. The court also took into account the negative results of the urine drug test conducted by the driver the following day.

The court concluded that the case materials do not contain a sufficient body of evidence to prove the objective side of the offense, and all doubts regarding the proof of guilt, according to the presumption of innocence principle, are interpreted in favor of the person.

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