LEBANON, Tenn. (WSMV) – That’s the first thing you notice when watching body camera footage of Wilson County deputies approaching Xavier Gray’s car.

When the first deputy arrives, Gray’s hands are in the air.

“First of all, I’m afraid of the police,” Gray told WSMV4 Investigates.

Admitting he was intimidated and afraid of losing his license, body camera footage shows him immediately agreeing to a field sobriety test.

According to the arrest affidavit, Gray had crossed the center line. One deputy wrote that Gray’s eyes were red and he was slow to respond to questions. He showed signs of impairment on all field sobriety tests, the affidavit says.

Body camera footage shows Gray reacting to being handcuffed.

“I’m arresting you for drunk driving. OK?” In the video, a member of parliament says this.

“Huh? I don’t drink or anything. That’s crazy,” Gray replied.

Months later, blood work reviewed by the TBI shows he had neither alcohol nor drugs in his system.

“I knew there was nothing in my system,” Gray said, adding that his arrest occurred in the early morning hours as he was on his way to work to write checks for employees at his trucking company.

“I work to make a living as a dump truck driver. That’s my entire livelihood,” Gray said. “I was really scared of losing my license.”

the gray one Last sober driver found by WSMV4 Investigates will be arrested on DUI charges in Tennessee.

WSMV4 Investigates’ report found Alcohol and toxicology tests accumulated in TBI This means innocent drivers will lose their jobs and insurance while they wait to clear their names.

The data does not include sober people arrested in 2024. Xavier was arrested on May 17, 2024.

“This is a miscarriage of justice,” Gray said. “Apparently they do this all over Tennessee.”

The data does not show where the arrests occurred or which police agency made them.

TBI data shows that arrests of sober drivers occurred at a rate of one percent or less during that time period. The vast majority of DUI arrests result in the driver having alcohol or drugs in his system.

But because there are so many DUI arrests, an average of 15,000 per year, that one percent results in the arrest of hundreds of sober drivers.

WSMV4 Investigates spoke with Alex Otte, executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Tennessee.

“No one wants drunk drivers on the road. So what does it mean that we continue to see sober people being arrested for DUI? I’ve heard of these happening on a very limited scale, and they are tragic, of course, for everyone involved,” Otte said.

WSMV4 Investigates is currently seeking reactions to data from law enforcement agencies and prosecutors. We also ask the TBI to disclose the locations of the arrests and the police agencies responsible.

Gray said it’s not comforting to know how often this happens to people like him.

“You know what’s scary? You’re thinking how hard I work to stay out of trouble, right? And then for something like this to happen,” Gray said.

How did WSMV4 Investigates continue to argue that data should be public?

Having documented so many cases, WSMV4 Investigates filed open records requests for a month, asking the TBI for blood test data for the past seven years on all individuals determined to have no alcohol or drugs in their systems.

TBI has repeatedly denied our request, stating that investigation records are confidential. WSMV4 Investigates then requested statistical data.

The TBI responded by submitting a report created “several months ago,” according to the agency.

This report listed statistical data for all people arrested for drunk driving and the percentage of alcohol in their body at the time of their arrest.

“This document only details results related to alcohol testing. We do not keep relevant statistics for drug testing in DUI cases,” the email from TBI said.

The document shows that between 2017 and 2023 (data for 2024 has not yet been compiled), 31,567 people in Tennessee were arrested for drunk driving and did not have 0.00 percent alcohol in their bodies. However, data determining how many of the 31,567 people were affected by illegal or prescription drugs were not included.

The statistical data was compiled after Rep. Lowell Russell, R-Vonore, was found to have a constituent who was sober and was arrested for driving under the influence.

“I saw the coverage you all did,” Russell said.

WSMV4 Investigations then asked the TBI if they could determine how many of the 31,567 people had no drugs in the system.

A TBI spokesperson said they are working to compile this data. On Friday, November 1, WSMV4 Investigates received an email with details of 609 cases.

As noted above, we are now asking the TBI to determine which policy agencies are making the arrests and that those arrests are occurring, and if we obtain that data it will report back to us.

Russell said he now wants the TBI to create a public document that will show all arrests, including DUI, if the person is convicted or charges are dismissed.

If you are a sober driver with a DUI or have something you think we should know, please email [email protected].

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