CSU student sues police after passing sobriety tests

Fort Collins, Colorado – A Colorado State University student is suing Fort Collins police officers who he says wrongfully arrested him for driving under the influence in July 2025.

Nathan May, now 21, was arrested July 16, 2025. A news release from attorney Sarah Schielke, who is representing May alongside attorney Matthew Haltzman, claims Fort Collins Police Services officers Trevor Cacciatore and Vince Hooley accused May of being impaired because he was "briefly driving without his headlight on" while leaving a movie. 

The criminal charges against May were dismissed in October 2025 after May's blood test came back with a “none detected” result for alcohol and drugs. In dismissing the case, prosecutors reportedly said there was "no reasonable likelihood of success at trial," the lawsuit claims.

May volunteered to do roadside sobriety tests and blew 0.0 on the breath test, according to the news release. The lawsuit claims "every objective indicator confirmed Mr. May’s sobriety. He was calm, polite, and fully coherent. His balance was normal. His driving was normal. His speech was normal. He carried on an easy, friendly conversation with one of the cover officers about the movie he had just seen and the route he had taken home."

The officers also reportedly searched May's car and found no evidence May was impaired, the lawsuit claims.

In the months between May's arrest and the case being dismissed, police reported the allegation to Colorado State University, "and as a result he was placed under a lengthy student-conduct investigation that threatened his academic future," according to the lawsuit. The criminal case also forced May to miss a family trip to Costa Rica, required him to complete months of pretrial urine testing, and caused him to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit also names the city of Fort Collins as a defendant, claiming the officers were not trained or supervised properly. The lawsuit cites Fort Collins Police Service's past issues with allegations of wrongful DUI arrests by former officer Jason Haferman. The city has paid out a total of $650,000 to settle two separate lawsuits claiming the drivers were falsely arrested for DUI by Haferman. One of those lawsuits has been dismissed and two others are pending as of July 23, 2026.

"Rather than fix the problem through training, supervision, and discipline, the City has defended and even endorsed the practice," the lawsuit claims. "Its officers’ wrongful arrest of Mr. May — featuring the very same hallmarks — was the predictable result."

City of Fort Collins spokesperson Amanda King declined to comment on the lawsuit citing pending litigation. Fort Collins Police Services has not responded to a request for comment as of the morning of July 24.

See the article here: https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/local/fort-collins/2026/07/24/csu-student-sues-police-for-wrongful-dui-arrest/91029519007