If you drive northeast across the state of Ohio from Cincinnati, the diagonal drive will bring you to Canfield after about 4 and a half hours. Do not make the drive if you have been drinking alcohol, of course.
A recent OVI arrest in Canfield demonstrates that anybody — even police officers — can be arrested for operating a vehicle while under the influence.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol released a video of the Youngstown State University police officer’s drunken driving arrest. The cop was pulled over at about one in the morning on an early June Friday night.
The cop told the Highway Patrol trooper that he had just left a friend’s house, but denied that he had consumed alcohol.
He had been pulled over for turning left through a red light. The video posted on a TV station’s website indeed shows the cop’s pick-up turning left even after the light had been red for several seconds.
The trooper then pulled the police officer’s vehicle over and wrote him a ticket for an improper turn. While telling the cop about the citation, the trooper stopped and said he could smell alcohol on the cop’s breath.
The Youngstown cop insisted that he should have been free to go after receiving the ticket, but the trooper disagreed, arresting him for OVI a few minutes later.
The police officer declined to take any field sobriety tests.
The Youngstown State University police chief said he will wait until the case has run its course before making any determinations about possible discipline of the accused officer.
Clearly, the man’s reputation and career are impacted by the arrest, no matter the outcome. Like all OVI suspects, he should speak with an experienced criminal defense attorney about how to pursue the best possible outcome in his circumstances.
