SPRINGFIELD, IL — A Springfield Police sergeant was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol during a stop in Chatham July 4.
Lindzee N. Carpenter will have a first appearance in Sangamon County court Aug. 25.
Carpenter also was cited for improper lane usage, according to an online entry with the Sangamon County Circuit Clerk’s office and a narrative from the Chatham Police Department.
The stop happened just past 9507 Illinois 4 southbound at 1:57 a.m.
According to a Chatham Police officer’s report, Carpenter drove away from the initial stop.
The officer initially observed Carpenter, driving a Hyundai Sonata, make “an abnormally wide turn” onto Illinois 4 from a country road.
Carpenter’s vehicle swerved towards the center dotted lines, returned to the center of the lane, swerved towards the right solid shoulder line and crossed the shoulder line, which was when she was stopped.
The officer asked Carpenter why she drove off from the initial stop “and it sounded like she said, ‘you told me that I could.’”
The narrative also referred to Carpenter stumbling when she exited her car and “slurring her words.”
When the officer first asked for her identification, Carpenter gave the officer an expired SPD identification card and two different credit cards.
There was an unopened pack of SuperLyte alcoholic beverage on her floorboard, though she denied it being there.
Carpenter refused a field sobriety test and later a breath sample. Several times, she denied to the officer that she had been drinking.
SPD Chief Joe Behl didn’t immediately respond to The State Journal-Register’s question about Carpenter’s status with the department.
Carpenter will have to surrender her license July 17.
Carpenter was promoted to sergeant in 2024.
(This story has been updated to include new information.)
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield Police sergeant cited for DUI in Chatham | Exclusive
Reporting by Steven Spearie, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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By Steven Spearie, Springfield State Journal-Register | USA TODAY Network
