After several witnesses called the police to report a marked patrol car swerving into multiple traffic cones, a Florida police officer was arrested Thursday and charged with a misdemeanor count of DUI.
On Thursday morning, several people called 911 to report an impaired driver in a marked patrol car striking multiple construction cones near TIAA Bank Field. According to Jacksonville Undersheriff Pat Ivey, the Integrity Special Investigations Unit responded to the scene and found Officer Zachary Taylor, who appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
During a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Undersheriff Ivey announced that Taylor’s blood alcohol content “far exceeded” the legal limit of 0.08, and the sheriff’s office limit of 0.00, after Taylor agreed to a breathalyzer.
“We are emergency suspending him. The civil service rules allow us under particular circumstances to impose what’s called an emergency suspension. We very rarely do it, because the situations don’t call for it, but we believe it does in this situation,” Ivey told reporters. “We will move to terminate him as soon as the time is appropriate.”
Charged with a first degree misdemeanor count of DUI, Taylor was suspended from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office on Thursday. Taylor has worked for the sheriff’s office for more than three years.
During the press conference, Ivey confirmed that Taylor made a statement to investigators alluding to activities from “the night before” when discussing his intoxicated state.
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