Amanda Goes...to jail?

By AMANDA CUDA
Staff writer Updated: 12/19/2008 10:56:07 PM EST

There's no sound quite like that of a jail cell door slamming shut. The rattle-rattle-rattle-clang of metal sliding into place is positively chilling, especially if you're on the wrong side of that cell door.

And that's exactly where I was a few weeks ago -- slumped against the wall of a cell at the Fairfield Police Department, watching mournfully as the door closed, sealing me inside. Sitting there, alone, it was hard not to feel fear, shame and loneliness. Of course, I was only in that cell for a few minutes.

But still, it was hell.

My brief flirtation with life behind bars was part of my latest Amanda Goes adventure, an attempt to help raise awareness of the repercussions of driving while intoxicated.

Earlier this month, Fairfield Police Sgt. James Perez contacted me about appearing on an episode of "Just the Facts," a show the department does in conjunction with Sound View Community Media, the cable access provider for Fairfield, Bridgeport, Stratford, Milford, Orange and Woodbridge.

"Just the Facts" provides crime prevention information and tips for the general public. Previous episodes have focused on such topics as identity theft and emergency preparedness.

The episode Perez wanted me to appear on focused on drunken driving arrests. Perez explained that the show would include discussions of the issue by police officers, as well a representative of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. There would also be a re-enactment of a drunken driving arrest. Perez wanted to know if I would play the drunken driver during the re-enactment sequence.

He explained that my appearance would likely include a few shots of me in a jail cell. And there was talk of handcuffs. Sold!

The day before shooting began, I met with Perez and Sound View producer Doug Defauw. The goal of the show, Perez said, is to make people more aware of the dangers of driving while drunk, and the legal penalties one can face from the crime.

According to MADD, three in 10 Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some point in their lives. Last year alone, there were 13,000 deaths in the country -- 101 of them in Connecticut -- where at least one driver had a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit of .08.

Police often use publicized sobriety checkpoints to deter drunken driving, and to remove intoxicated motorists from the roadways.

The Fairfield Police run four to six checkpoints a year, mostly around the holidays, when drunken driving is a particular concern.

At a checkpoint, officers look for intoxication warning signs, including the smell of alcohol or a driver fumbling for her license and registration. If the officers suspect the driver has had too much to drink, she will have to undergo a series of sobriety tests.

For the purposes of the show, the Fairfield Police Department would set up a checkpoint on the Post Road. My job was to drive up and somehow signal that I was a "problem" driver. Then, I'd be asked for my license and registration, and undergo some sobriety tests. I'd fail, get arrested, have some handcuffs slapped on me and be carted off to the police station to take a Breathalyzer test.

In reality, those who fail, or refuse to take, the test have their license suspended. They are also subject to other penalties, including fines, jail time and community service.

My appearance would end with me being thrown into a holding cell.

I showed up the next day, ready to roll. To enhance the reality of the shoot, the police had set up a real checkpoint for me to drive through. Perez told me I was to drive his unmarked police car for my scene, and asked me to move it into shooting position, just outside the checkpoint. To ensure that no one thought I was just some Joe Motorist stopped in the middle of the road, Perez suggested I turn on the car's overhead lights.

That's right folks -- I got to drive a cop car, with the flashing lights on. And yes, it was awesome.

Soon, it was time to start the dramatization. As cameras rolled, I pulled up to the checkpoint and slammed on the brakes. Then I slammed on the brakes again. An officer had me pull forward, to where Officer Mark Fracassini of the accident division was standing.

He had me get out of the car, and go through the sobriety tests. First, he told me I was to follow a pen with my eyes as he moved it back and forth in front of my face. I was not supposed to move my head.

I moved my head. Next, Fracassini asked me to take a series of steps, toe to heel, then pivot and walk back. I took the steps forward, then walked backward without pivoting. That's right. I have mad improvisational skills.

Obviously, I failed my test, and was placed under arrest. Fracassini cuffed me. I was then stuffed in the back of a police car, and carted off to the station. For my next scene, I was taped being processed and taking a Breathalyzer test, which I failed. Then came that ominous final shot of me in the holding cell, as the door banged shut.

Despite the discomfort of the handcuffs, the experience was actually kind of fun (though I imagine it would be less so in real life). Once filming was over, Perez and Defauw thanked me for my help, and told me the show would be airing in a few weeks.

A few days later, I received a call from a nervous-sounding Perez. "Um, Amanda? Could you call me? I have some good news and some bad news." I frantically called back. Perez told me that the footage didn't come out and my scenes needed to be totally reshot.

Oof.

"What's the good news?" I asked.

"There isn't any," he replied.

Within a few days, I was back at the police department. We went through the whole thing again: the checkpoint, the tests, the arrest, the handcuffs, and the clanging cell door.

Everything went fine, except the Breathalyzer machine was out being fixed, so they couldn't film me taking the test. The guys decided that, for a twist, I would refuse to take the test -- an action that comes with a six-month driver's license suspension in real life. We redid the scene, and I adamantly refused to take the Breathalyzer test.

That's right. I'm bad.

Thankfully, this time the footage came out. The finished episode is slated to air tonight on public access television. Though I had a blast shooting the show, driving while intoxicated is clearly a serious issue. I'm grateful that the Fairfield police thought to include me in this important project.

I'd also like to thank them for letting me out of that jail cell. Because fake or not, being behind bars is just no fun.

The "Just the Facts" episode on drinking and driving premieres today on Sound View's Education Channel 78 and Government Channel 79. The program will air 9:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. on channel 78 and at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on channel 79. The episode will air daily at those times and on those channels through Jan. 3.

The show will also be available on Sound View's Web site, www.soundviewtv.org, and the Fairfield Police Department Web site, www.fpdct.com.