Pilot suspected of drinking sues police over detention

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) – An airline pilot suspected of drinking before he prepared to fly is suing two Rapid City police officers who arrested him.

Russell Duszak claims he has been unable to get a new job as a pilot after he was wrongly arrested in October 2016 at the Rapid City airport where he was a co-pilot for SkyWest.

A Transportation Safety Administration worker reported smelling alcohol on one of the pilots when they went through their screening and notified police. An officer interrogated Duszak and called for another officer who performed a breath test which showed a blood alcohol content of .04 percent, the limit set by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Duszak was detained for four hours and given a blood test which showed only a trace amount of alcohol. Duszak was not prosecuted because the breath test was inadmissible in court.

AP-WF-09-13-19 1108GMT