Eureka Woman Lights Cigarette Mid-Sobriety Test, Faces DUI Arrest

Barefoot and dressed in black on 4th Street near L, Cassandra Marie Campbell, 65, paused her field sobriety interview with Eureka Police long enough to walk to her car and light a cigarette. Officer Krisha White responded by placing her in handcuffs. By the time EPD finished its search, Campbell was headed to the Humboldt County jail on charges of DUI and driving without a license.

The incident unfolded in a roughly nine-minute window on the afternoon of March 22. At 3:19 p.m., Officer White had already placed Campbell in cuffs and officers began searching her and the area. Sgt. Ryan Swanson was also on scene. By 3:22 p.m., what had initially been an open question, whether an arrest would follow, was settled: Campbell was going to jail. At 3:28 p.m., EPD towed her vehicle, a black Mercedes with a dent, from the scene.

Witnesses noted Campbell was slurring her words during the encounter. When Sgt. Swanson offered her cell phone before transport, she declined, telling him she didn't need it: "you know where I will be."

Campbell was booked at the Humboldt County jail on VC 23152(a), driving under the influence, and VC 12500(a), driving without a valid license. She was released on her own recognizance following booking.

The encounter was captured on Facebook Live by local blogger John Chiv, who documented the scene from 4th and L, the same stretch of 4th Street where the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office had made a separate stop earlier that day. Chiv's live video was subsequently posted to his blog.

EPD had not issued an official statement on the arrest at the time of publication, and no chemical test results were included in available records.