dui

You probably can't get pulled over unless the officer saw you drinking the beer. If you were pulled over and the officer smelled the beer, that may be enough for him to conduct a DUI investigation.

Edward J. Blum

In order for an officer to initiate a traffic stop, they must have a reasonable articulable suspicion (RAS) to believe that you have committed, are committing, or are about to commit a crime. I don't practice in Ohio so I don't know if you have an 'open container' law. Beyond that, a 4th amendment argument could be made that in the absence of an open container law, there was no evidence of a crime. Of course, any number of traffic infractions give them RAS to pull you over.

Once the officer has made legal contact, the smell of alcohol on your breath along with other indicia of intoxication certainly allow them to conduct a DUI investigation.

If you showed him the can indicating that it was non-alcoholic beer, I'd love to see the cross exam of that officer.

Best of luck.

In order for a police officer to initiate a traffic stop, they need either reasonable suspicion that you are engaged in criminal activity or probable cause to believe you have committed a traffic offense. The officer is not going to "smell" the NA beer until after he has pulled you over. However, just having the odor of beer, whether NA or otherwise, may not be enough for the officer to have you perform field sobriety tests.

To have a person perform field sobriety tests, the officer must have reasonable suspension to believe that you ability to operate the vehicle is appreciably impaired or that you are over the legal limit. Typically the officers will document things such as a traffic violation, watery/bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, an admission of drinking, fumbling for a license, etc. Based on these indicators, the officer may then ask the person to perform field sobriety tests. Of course, everyone has the right to refuse to take these tests.

If the officer develops sufficient probable cause for arrest, then the person will be arrested and typically taken back to the police station or jail where they will be asked for a chemical test to determine the concentration of alcohol in their blood, breath, or urine.