By Police1 Staff
CLAYTON, Mo. — St. Louis County Police are holding their officers to a higher standard than the public when it
comes to drinking and driving.
Missouri law puts the limit on a driver’s blood-alcohol content at 0.08. Under a revised departmental policy, off-duty county officers using cruisers as personal vehicles cannot have a BAC more than 0.04, according to the Riverfront Times.
Police Chief Tim Fitch says the change came after an officer issued a speeding ticket to Lucas Lamb of Greenfield, Ill., last August. Soon after the stop, Lamb saw the same officer drinking beer at an MMA fight, filmed him and chased him through the parking lot with his camera — then complained to police about the incident.
In a letter, Chief of police Tim Fitch wrote that the officer did not break any policies or laws, but thanked Lamb for bringing the matter to his attention.
“While conscious of the legality of consumption of small amounts of alcoholic beverages and then having the ability to safely operate a vehicle, we have implemented a new policy that conforms to United States Department of Transportation guidelines for those operating commercial vehicles.”