A Daytona Beach police officer featured in On Patrol Live last year was arrested early Oct. 9 for allegedly driving drunk and crashing into a light pole in the parking lot of a McDonald’s in Palm Coast, authorities said.
Daytona Beach Police Department spokeswoman Magen Geary said later Thursday, Oct. 9, that Officer Edward Lee, Jr. has been placed on paid administrative leave while an internal investigation is conducted.
Lee, a K-9 officer, was featured in an episode of On Patrol Live on Jan. 6, 2024.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, which charged Lee with misdemeanor refusal to submit to DUI testing, is conducting a criminal investigation on Lee, Geary said.
The K-9 officer has been with the Daytona Beach police since May 2018, Geary said.
Geary said Daytona Beach police will cooperate fully with Flagler authorities throughout the duration of their investigation.
“This type of behavior is not representative of the values of the Daytona Beach Police Department, and the officer will be held accountable in accordance with departmental policy and the law,” Geary said in an email.
Officer smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot, watery eyes
Flagler County deputies were called about a white Nissan Titan truck weaving all over the roadway. Then, at 12:03 a.m., a deputy located the truck in the parking lot of the McDonald’s on Old Kings Road. It had run into a curb and crashed into a light pole, according to Lee’s arrest report.
Lee tried to tell Flagler deputies that a woman was driving the truck and that he was in the passenger seat while she was going to the drive-thru to get food, but he could not provide the woman’s name, the report noted.
When asked how the truck ran over the curb and crashed into the light pole, Lee said he didn’t know., deputies said.
A second deputy and a McDonald’s employee confirmed that Lee was the sole occupant of the vehicle, the report states. The McDonald’s employee said he saw Lee driving the vehicle when it crashed, according to the report.
Lee smelled strongly of alcohol and had watery, bloodshot, dilated eyes, Flagler deputies said.
Lee declined to do a field sobriety test or give a breath test. A new law that took effect Oct. 1 increases penalties for refusing a breath or urine test after a lawful arrest, levying an additional misdemeanor charge.
Because of the crash, Lee was transported to Advent South Medical Hospital, where he signed a refusal form that would allow a doctor to treat him, deputies said.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Arrested Daytona Beach officer accused of driving drunk, crashing into light pole
Reporting by Patricio G. Balona, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
