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Sheriff's deputy shares his side of the story after viral video

A teen claimed in a viral video that she got out of getting a DUI by flirting with the officer.

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colorado — The Jefferson County sheriff's deputy who pulled over an 18-year-old last weekend is now sharing his side of the story.

The teenager he pulled over claimed she got out of a DUI and the deputy asked her out for a date. Body camera footage showed that wasn't true. 

RELATED: Body camera footage refutes viral video claims of teen getting out of DUI by flirting with deputy

"I made contact with the driver and I spoke with her. She said she was on her phone. She said that she was upset because her boyfriend broke up with her," Deputy Tyler Stahl said.

Footage from his body camera shows exactly what happened.

"Throughout my entire interaction she would start crying and get more choked up the more she was talking about it," he said.

Stahl said he's grateful for that footage, because without it, it could've been the teen's word against his.

"I believe in transparency. I love the body cameras," he said. "Body cameras are a method of transparency."

Credit: KUSA
Deputy Tyler Stahl

Stahl said every single traffic stop he makes is a DUI investigation.

"I felt best that I gave her a warning," he said. "I didn't think she was impaired and was able to operate the motor vehicle appropriately."

The teen later posted a video on social media, which has now been viewed more than 75,000 times.

In the video, she claims she blew a "3.8" on a breathalyzer -- a number that would be fatal -- and got out of a DUI by flirting with the deputy. 

Then, she said, the officer gave her his number and asked her out to lunch. 

All of that turned out to be untrue. 

Stahl said he expects better.

"It was selfish, and I'm just disappointed. I'm not mad. I'm disappointed," he said. "I genuinely think that she probably feels bad and she's going to have to live with this for a while and that's probably consequence enough."

Stahl said he's a parent himself, and if it were his child who lied, he'd hope the story could be a learning opportunity.

"It's not all about what people think about you. It's not all about getting there for that thumbs-up, that like, that heart reaction, and it's more than just about yourself," he said. "She did it without thinking of any ramifications for anybody, herself included. She just acted in the moment and it was just selfish.”

Stahl said criminally, there isn't anything that can be done to the teen for lying. 

"I’m just out here to try and make everybody’s day a little bit better and not ruin anybody’s day, but be there for them on maybe their worst day," he said. "I’m not going to write more tickets because of this. I’m going to continue to be who I am and educate and enforce traffic laws because it keeps people safe.”

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