A 29-year-old Kansas City police officer was suspended with pay after she allegedly assaulted other officers when they attempted to arrest her for drunk driving earlier this month.
Clay County prosecutors charged the female officer with assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, attempted assault on a law enforcement officer and driving while intoxicated. All the charges are misdemeanors. The officer was off-duty at the time of the alleged drunk driving incident.
According to police reports, a Missouri Highway Patrol trooper pulled the woman over about 3:00 a.m. on Feb. 8 after he saw her driving erratically near North Oak Trafficway and Northeast 106th Street.
When the trooper approached the off-duty officer's car, he smelled alcohol in the vehicle and noticed the off-duty officer's speech was slurred. He attempted to place the woman under arrest after she did not pass a field sobriety test, according to court documents.
The trooper alleges the woman became enraged when he tried to handcuff her. He tried to force her to the ground, and she scratched his neck. Then, he used pepper spray on her.
It took multiple officers to handcuff the woman. When the arresting officer attempted to secure a seatbelt on the woman in order to transport her to jail, reports state that she allegedly head-butted him. It took seven deputies to secure the woman in a restraint chair at the Clay County Detention Center, court documents show.
A spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department said the woman has been a police officer since 2005. It is department policy to suspend police officers accused of crimes until the criminal investigation is complete.
The off-duty officer arrested in this case is undoubtedly worried about the impact a DUI conviction could have on her future law enforcement career. An attorney with knowledge of Kansas' DUI laws will be able to review the reports that led up to the woman's arrest and provide advice to protect her rights.
Source: The Kansas City Star, "KC police officer accused of drunken driving, resisting arrest," Tony Rizzo, Feb. 9, 2012.
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