Baltimore DUI Lawyer: Top Cop DUI Arrest

Officers in Millville, NJ had to arrest their own commanding officer following an accident. According to the local ABC affiliate , the commanding officer, side swiped another vehicle while exiting the parking. After initiating an investigation, the officers determined that their fellow cop was perhaps driving while under the influence.  Talk about a hard day at the officer. Arresting your boss cannot be easy.

There is an interesting back story to this officer in the fact that he went against his own kind in a whistle blower suit. In that case, he argued that he was being harassed by his fellow officers after busting a ticket fixing scheme of some sort. His employer settled suggesting at least that there was enough dirt to make the case risky to take to trial. I wonder if his arrest had something to do with that case.

As the Boston Globe  wrote, some officers will refuse to arrest colleagues found driving under the influence, a custom known as “professional courtesy.” The paper cites an example where fellow officers arrange for a ride for an officer who appeared showed signs of being under the influence of alcohol instead of performing field sobriety tests or even making an arrest. Therefore, the arrest of an officer let alone a ranking officer is interesting.

While I do not have statistics on how many officers get charged with a DUI, it appears to happen pretty frequently. A quick google search shows that the problem is occurring in Maryland other states as well. A local police chief was arrested on suspicion of DUI in July of 2014 and later cleared of the DUI charge in court according to a USA Today report. CBS reported of an arrest of a Maryland state trooper following an accident in Hagerstown. A December 9, 2014 story on states that at least 30 police officers were charged with a DUI in Massachusetts over a span of two years.