West Virginia State Police were called for an unknown vehicle stuck in a front yard in the 5000 block of Timber Ridge Road in Berkeley Springs on Saturday, June 10 at about 7 p.m.
At the scene, police observed a grey Honda van partially in a driveway and hovering over a ditch. Five children under the age of 18 who came out of the van were in the area.
The van’s driver, identified as Brittany N. Shipe, 32, of Strasburg, Virginia, appeared intoxicated, stumbling, slurring her words, and smelling of alcohol, according to a criminal complaint filed in Morgan County Magistrate Court by Trooper B.A. Meyers. Shipe reportedly claimed she had one glass of wine and a Zoloft, and then got lost after leaving a birthday party.
Refusing to take a standard field sobriety test or a breath test, the woman reportedly claimed that only she “as a mother,” and not police, could determine if she was intoxicated or impaired. Her brother then arrived on the scene from Tri-Lake Park, and convinced her to get in the back seat of the police cruiser as instructed.
At that point, Shipe allegedly attempted to prevent the officer from putting mechanical restraints on her wrists, and was transported to the state police barracks in Berkeley Springs for processing.
There, Shipe reportedly refused to sit down, and at- tempted to leave the room. Police were then forced to shackle her to a wooden bench by her ankles, but not before she shoved the officer, grabbed his uniform and kicked her feet to resist, according to the criminal complaint.
Shipe was arrested and charged with DUI with a minor in the vehicle, battery on an officer, and obstructing. She is currently incarcerated at Eastern Regional Jail awaiting a hearing.
