By Glenn Smith
The Post and Courier
SUMMERVILLE, S.C. — Former North Charleston police officer Christine Phinney faces a public intoxication charge after she was spotted stumbling in traffic early Monday on Central Avenue, authorities said.
Phinney, who lost her job after a Christmas Eve car chase, “overwhelmingly” smelled of alcohol, slurred her words and had trouble standing when she was stopped by police around 12:30 a.m., according to a police report.
Phinney, 42, was arrested and hauled off to Dorchester County jail, police said. She is now free on a personal recognizance bond while awaiting trial, authorities said.
Police were called to Central Avenue, near West Carolina Avenue, to check out a report of an intoxicated woman in a red tank top stumbling in and out of traffic. An officer found Phinney stumbling along a sidewalk, but she initially didn’t respond when the officer turned on the cruiser’s blue lights and called to her, according to a police report.
When Phinney finally stopped, the officer asked how she was. “I’m great, but I don’t have to talk to you,” the report quoted Phinney as saying. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
She then told the officer: “I am walking up the road to get my car,” the report said.
When asked if she had been drinking, Phinney stated: “I drank five hours ago. Can I help you with something?”
Phinney has an unlisted phone number and could not be reached for comment Tuesday. It was unclear if she had hired an attorney.
The incident occurred on the same road where Phinney had trouble on Christmas Eve, derailing her police career.
On that night, Phinney led officers on a brief chase through Summerville after they reportedly spotted her speeding on Central Avenue in a BMW. She later pulled over and scuffled with a Dorchester County sheriff’s deputy on Hawthorne Avenue. Deputies cited the off-duty officer for reckless driving and disorderly conduct, but she avoided a trip to jail.
On police videotapes of the incident, Phinney can be heard telling Deputy Mike Files that she would give a fellow officer a free pass for speeding and that the deputy would “have a much bigger problem” when her husband arrived. Her husband, Tony Phinney, is a lieutenant at the Sheriff’s Office.
On the tape, Files stated he was arresting her for resisting arrest and questioned how much she had to drink. The resisting charge was never filed, and Phinney’s blood-alcohol level wasn’t tested.
Officials have said that final charges are at an officer’s discretion and that deputies might later have decided that a resisting count wasn’t warranted. Also, deputies need probable cause to file a charge before conducting a Breathalyzer test, and they said Phinney did not show signs of impairment.
North Charleston Police Chief Jon Zumalt fired Phinney after the incident for exhibiting conduct unbecoming of a police officer. In March, she pleaded guilty to reckless driving and paid a $200 fine. At the same time, prosecutors dismissed a disorderly conduct charge she faced after the pursuit.
Copyright 2010 The Post and Courier