Cop Killed in DUI After Drinking at Academy Bar
Kenneth Aragon, a 19-year veteran of the LAPD died earlier this month when he crashed his motorcycle after drinking at the police academy bar. Although the department wouldn’t release his exact blood alcohol concentration level, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said it was “well over the legal limit” of a California DUI.
The accident followed “payday Wednesday”…an unofficial but regular event held every other week to celebrate officer’s latest paychecks. This decades-old tradition has always been an allegedly rowdy event, involving drunk officers.
Department officials are evaluating this tradition, wondering if the bartenders that work at the academy are plying officers with too much to drink. Are you kidding me?
When a civilian is arrested for a California DUI, does the officer blame or even question the bartender or party host? Of course not. Officers place liability on the suspect for choosing to consume too much alcohol. Why should this case be any different?!
It’s crazy that instead of recognizing that Aragon…and most likely many other officers who partake in “payday Wednesday”…acted irresponsibly, placing himself and countless others in danger, that department officials are shifting blame.
What the LAPD won’t do to protect their officers…
