DUI Blogger

A Cincinnati police officer who recently received an award from Mothers Against Drunk Driving was arrested last week in Aurora, Ind., on drunken-driving charges, according to a news report in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Aurora Police charged Officer Charles Beebe, 54, with driving while intoxicated and driving while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level between .08 and .14. Beebe's blood alcohol was .08, according to the arrest report. A driver is considered to be legally drunk in Indiana with a blood alcohol of at least .08.

Aurora Officer Jared Dausch said in his arrest report that he was parked on Indiana’s Highway 56 when he saw a sport utility zip by at a high rate of speed. The female driver of a car following the SUV pulled alongside the officer and told him that the SUV driver was going to cause an accident, he said in the report. The female driver also told the officer that the SUV “passed her and ran two vehicles off the road,” the officer stated. Dausch then pursued the SUV and stopped it. Once he made the stop, the officer administered a field sobriety test on Beebe, which he failed, the report said. Beebe then agreed to a chemical test.

He was booked into the local county jail. Beebe is a 32-year veteran of the Cincinnati Police Department. He was promoted to specialist in 1990. Earlier this year, Beebe received a Top Cop award from MADD's Southwest Ohio chapter at the group’s annual luncheon. The group released a statement Thursday saying it was disappointed to learn of Beebe’s arrest especially because they had honored him recently for getting drunk drivers off the road.

A Cincinnati police spokeswoman wouldn't provide Beebe's specific salary but said the salary range for Cincinnati police specialists is $58,484 to $60,263 annually. She also said Beebe “will be assigned to desk duty, with police powers suspended, pending the outcome of his court case.”