PERKINS, Okla. (KFOR) – Police released the body camera footage of a Perkins-Tryon 3rd grade teacher who was accused of being drunk at work on the first day of school.
“You’re under arrest.”
“Please don’t do this. No! Please, please, please, please, I can’t do this, please.”
Those are the words Kimberly Coates kept repeating in the body cam video after she was accused of being drunk in the classroom on the first day of school.
The conversation started with Coates in a room answering questions from Superintendent Doug Ogle, another staff member, and a police officer.
“Do you have a prescription for anything that you have taken today? Just seems like you’re not the same person, that I talked to this morning. I did take some medication last night to help me sleep because I have some anxiety stuff.”
Staff and police weren’t buying it and asked her to take a breathalyzer test.
“Are you gonna blow double zeroes, I don’t know…you should know if you haven’t drank anything it’ll show double zeros….if you drank anything recently it’ll show it.”
“You wanna tell me the truth, how much did you have to drink?”
The test found Coates was three times the legal limit. That’s when her story started to change.
She told police she had drank wine the night before, then said she had drank wine until 3AM.
Finally, she admits she drank as she drove to class.
“I just don’t believe you right now, I think you’re lying to us….Okay, I drank on the way to work.”
Police were giving Coates the option to have someone pick her up and take her home, rather than arresting her. However, a few minutes later, the superintendent comes back to the room with a cup taken from her classroom.
“Okay no more games, right? What was in that. Uh my juice. Wanna try again? That there is wine.”
Finally, the officer’s patience wore off, after Coates tried wiping the wine out of her cup.
“Please, please please. I’m not doing it. I’m not doing it. You had your chance to be honest… And then you wipe this out….put your hands behind your back…. put your hands behind your back.”
Coates was taken to the Payne County jail. She’s been booked and released. The Perkins-Tryon school district is conducting its own internal investigation.
