To my followers and the general public,
On April 26th, 2024, I was wrongfully arrested for Driving Under the Influence by Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Donovan Van Note (Badge 176).
The show I was supposed to play that night was canceled due to weather, so I went to a friend's place in Florence, MT for the evening. Heading home, I was stopped by Trooper Van Note. He claimed I was speeding – “62 in a 35,” as his reason for stopping me.
Immediately, Trooper Van Note starts to question me while observing my ID, asking things like, “I’m not real fast at math, how old are you?” and “How come in your driver’s license photo, your eyes are nice and clear, and tonight they’re all bloodshot and watery?”
Trooper Van Note then told me to get out of my vehicle and stated that he will be putting me through a series of Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFST), failing to ask for my consent. I complied with his orders and submitted to the SFST, during which several remarks were made by the officer suggesting cannabis impairment, and how all of my performances were pointing towards it. The officer’s written report contains information that is not consistent with his dashcam footage.
Trooper Van Note then proceeded to take my pulse alongside the road. After doing so, he claimed it was 90BPM, to which he said – “It’s higher than average, which is pretty common with cannabis usage.” For reference, according to the American Heart Association, the average RESTING heart rate is 60-100 BPM, but can increase due to factors like stress, nervousness, or anxiety. During the course of this traffic stop, I asked to “take a test” 5 different times.
At one point, Trooper Van Note walks away to speak with his partner, MHP Trooper Hartenstein. Trooper Van Note can be heard in the video telling his partner “He [Jaden] has no smell of marijuana.” There was no possession, there was no admission of use, and there was no search of my vehicle. Trooper Van Note still concluded his conversation with, “So, I’ve got cannabis impairment.”
I was then asked to take a Preliminary Breath Test (PBT), to which I agreed. After blowing STRAIGHT ZEROS, Trooper Van Note stood me up, instructed me to put my hands behind my back, and told me that I was under arrest for a DUI - Drugs.
Before being taken to jail, I was brought into St. Patrick’s Hospital to submit for a blood test looking for marijuana or any other substances that I may have been under the influence of while driving. Those results wouldn’t be in for another 4-8 weeks. For more immediate evidence, that Monday morning, I went to Compliance Monitoring Systems and took an observed, 9-panel urinalysis test… those results as well as my blood results all came came back NEGATIVE, with ZERO metabolites, alcohol, or anything else present in my system.
Two months to the date, June 26th, 2024, my case has been dismissed and all charges dropped.
Please share this post to help me get the word out that ANY DRIVER could be placed in this position, even if you are totally INNOCENT, SOBER, and have NEVER used a substance in your life!
As a songwriter, I wrote a song about this night to tell my story. It’s called “Thrown To The Wolves,” and it’s out this Friday.
#JusticeForJaden #jadendecker #montana #police #dui
