The recent conviction of a Portland, Oregon, public safety officer demonstrates that anyone can have problems with drinking and driving. The 53-year-old firefighter pleaded guilty recently to driving under the influence of intoxicants.
It was about 2:30 a.m. on a mid-November morning when Portland police got a call about an SUV that had severed a utility pole and a mailbox before tumbling down an embankment. Emergency firefighters learned the vehicle was registered to one of their colleagues, who lived half a mile away from the crash. Worried, they first went to his home and then to the crash scene, where they searched for his body. But when police checked his home later, he staggered to the door, soaking wet and covered in mud, according to police reports. He explained that he'd been gardening, but when an officer pressed for the truth, the firefighter said he'd tell him what really happened if he promised to leave. The officer said he couldn't.
The firefighter was arrested just before 4 a.m. on charges of drunken driving, reckless driving, hit-and-run driving and second-degree criminal mischief. Police said his blood alcohol level was .17 percent, more than twice the legal driving limit.
The firefighter, who has worked for the fire bureau for 26 years, isn't alone. He and two other off-duty firefighters were arrested and convicted of DUII in 2011. In response, the bureau is developing a drunk-driving prevention program that will be used at all 30 fire stations in the city. The Portland police bureau has had its own share of problems with the same issue. In about a year's time from late 2010 to 2011, five officers were arrested and accused of drunk driving. The bureau chief said his department plans to study alcohol use by officers vs. the general public.
Public safety officers have dangerous, high-pressure jobs that can cause quite a bit of stress. Drinking and driving is a dangerous and unhealthy way of dealing with that stress, but the fact that both police and fire administrators recognize the problem and are taking measures to address it is encouraging.
Source: OregonLive.com, "Portland firefighter claimed he was gardening at 3:30 a.m., convicted of DUII," Aimee Green, Feb. 1, 2012
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