An Ohio State Highway Patrol officer has been placed on administrative duty following an incident at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Austintown. The trooper has been charged with OVI after several people witnessed bizarre behavior on the part of the trooper. He will have a chance to confront these witnesses as part of his criminal defense.
The trooper was served two beers at the restaurant and was offered some food. According to witnesses, the man ate some food, which did not stay down. Employees noticed that he had his head down on the bar and appeared to be sleeping. It was then the manager asked him to leave.
Employees saw the officer apparently asleep in his vehicle and the manager called police. When officers arrived, they found the trooper’s vehicle was on, and he was slumped over the center console. Police were not able to easily wake the man up, and when they did, they reported that he was groggy and was slurring his words.
Officers claim he identified himself as a state trooper. He declined to take a breath test or to submit to field sobriety tests. In fact, he is reported as telling officers to arrest him.
As this officer prepares his criminal defense, it may be to his advantage to make the court aware of a prior incident that may have been similar to this one in which he was ruled to have had a bad reaction to some medication. Since the Ohio state trooper declined a breath test and field sobriety tests, the state will be required to use witness testimony in its attempt to establish his guilt. If the trooper is able to give the court any reasonable doubt regarding his guilt, he will have to be found innocent.
Source: wkbn.com, “Trooper charged with OVI,” July 9, 2013