Former Carbon County Sheriff Barry Bryner refused to take a sobriety test on Feb. 27 - moments before he got into his car and led officers on a high-speed chase, a Helper police officer testified Friday.

Charlotte Salyer, Helper City police officer, said she pursued him at speeds up to 90 mph and at one point was forced off the road. Salyer radioed for assistance.However, defense attorney Ronald J. Yengich said he will contend that the requirement of probable cause was not met when Salyer attempted to detain Bryner in Helper. Yengich said he will challenge the constitutionality of the law under which Bryner was arrested.

Bryner's preliminary hearing, which began Friday afternoon in the 7th Circuit Court, will conclude with the filing of written memoranda and a written decision from the judge.

Bryner is charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and failure to stop for an officer in connection with an early morning high-speed automobile chase. Bryner was apprehended while lying in swamp grass near his wrecked sheriff's car in the vicinity of the south Price exit.

The sheriff was treated at Castle View Hospital for minor injuries and was later released on bail. Following the incident, the Carbon County Commissioners appointed an acting sheriff.

During the preliminary hearing eight witnesses, including several police officers, were questioned by Carbon County Attorney Gene Strate and cross-examined by Yengich. Near the end of the day Yengich asked Judge Bruce Halliday to allow him to file a written memorandum.

Under the arrangement agreed to by the judge, Yengich will have a week to file his memorandum and Strate will have another week in which to reply. The judge will then submit his written decision.

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Salyer was the first witness Friday afternoon. She said she observed Bryner at about 2 a.m. on Main Street in Helper. He was standing outside his police car which was parked directly behind the car of a woman driver. Salyer said Bryner told her the woman's car was stalled and he asked her assistance in getting the car started.

Salyer said she and the sheriff tried unsuccessfully to push the stalled car because none of their vehicles had push bars. The car did not start and Bryner then pushed it with his police car.

Salyer said during this time Bryner appeared to her to be intoxicated because of his unsteady walk and seeming state of confusion. She thought he smelled of an alcoholic beverage. When Salyer attempted to administer a sobriety test, she said, he got into his car and fled at a high speed.

During cross examination, Yengich said Bryner's car had been parked according to standard procedures for an officer giving assistance to a motorist. He suggested Bryner's behavior may have been due to back surgery, which Bryner had undergone previously, and the pressures of being under investigation by Police Officer's Standards and Training. Yengich said Salyer failed to ask enough questions to determine whether there might be an undercover investigation going on or whether Bryner had been drinking. She also did not ask him what was going on or what his problems were, said Yengich.

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