There was no cause to arrest McNair when he was a passenger during Kazemi's DUI stop on July 2 because Kazemi was a co-owner of the Cadillac Escalade and bore the responsibility, Aaron said.
Kazemi was driving 54 mph in a 30-mph zone and was stopped at Broadway near 12th Avenue, according to court records. She told police she was not drunk, but high. She later said it had been eight hours since she had drunk any alcohol. The court records don't mention that McNair and a second passenger were in the car.
Although McNair was an owner, police did follow procedure when they released McNair, said Nashville criminal defense lawyer Nathan Moore.
"Absolutely, they did the right thing," Moore said of the officers' letting McNair take a cab. "He had no legal obligation keeping her from driving the SUV. It was registered in both their names.''
Officer Shawn Taylor, who stopped Kazemi, also was the officer who arrested McNair in 2003. The charges were dismissed and expunged.
Taylor, however, was disciplined six years ago for violating department rules by repeatedly asking McNair to take a breath test after he refused. Police also said Taylor violated departmental rules then by taking home copies of DUI arrest tapes, including one of McNair.
There's no indication McNair was given a pass in the Thursday traffic stop though, Aaron said.
"The officer even said to Ms. Kazemi that if the Escalade was registered solely to McNair, he would likely have been in the same situation as she," Aaron said.
) 2 years ago driving from DC to TX on our first 'roadtrip'... We left after 30 minutes, downtown was a horrible place to be.
