DUI Suspect Insults Cops, Makes Obscene Gesture In Booking Photo

(CBS) – Police in southwest suburban Riverside say a motorist arrested on suspicion of drunken driving proved difficult to book – spitting and vomiting and insulting officers – and even made obscene gestures while her mugshot was being taken.

Riverside police say Hazel Rojas, 44, of Cicero was pulled over early Friday after an officer noticed her not proceeding through a green light on South Harlem Avenue. When the officer pulled up behind Rojas's vehicle, the motorist began driving erratically, police said in a news release.

During the ensuing roadside stop, Rojas denied drinking alcohol but said worked a place where alcohol was served and she may have gotten some spilled on her clothing.

She refused to take a breathalyzer test and became abusive and insulting toward officers when told she was being arrested for DUI, police said.

"She began to verbally abuse the officers by hurling insults about the officers, the profession of law enforcement and the officers' families. She additionally asked not to be arrested by Riverside Police officers as she was friends with many other police officers in the western suburbs and started dropping names," police said in the news release.

Rojas made the booking process difficult by displaying vulgar hand gestures while having her mug shot taken. She also spit and vomited in front of the arresting officer, police said.

Rojas was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving under the posted minimum speed limit, illegal lane usage and driving under the influence of drugs (Diazepam).

Her vehicle, a 2003 Land Rover, was impounded as part of the DUI arrest, police said.

In announcing the charges, Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel said the incident "demonstrates the difficulty in making DUI arrest nowadays. More and more people are fighting with the police when arrested and booked."