By Dale Quinn
Arizona Daily Star
TUCSON, Ariz. — An off-duty Tohono O’odham Police Department officer was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving early Sunday after a passerby found him slumped in his patrol car on the Northwest Side, an official said.
According to a preliminary breathalyzer test, Brandon Ramon, 24, had a blood alcohol content of .145 when Pima County sheriff¹s deputies caught up with him, said Lt. Karl Woolridge. The legal limit is .08.
About 3:45 a.m. Sunday, someone called 911 after he saw a Tohono O’odham patrol car stopped in the middle of Oracle Road just north of River Road with its headlights on, Woolridge said.
The caller saw the officer slumped over the steering wheel and was concerned about him, Woolridge said. When deputies arrived they knocked on the patrol car¹s window, rousing Ramon. He then started driving south on Oracle until deputies were able to stop him near West Roger Road, Woolridge said.
The deputies smelled a strong odor of intoxicants and Ramon had difficulty speaking, Woolridge said. He agreed to a blood test and was cited then turned over to the chief of the Tohono O’odham Police Department.
Another Tohono O’odham officer picked up the patrol car.
Ramon was off-duty at the time and wearing a black dress shirt and black dress pants, Woolridge said. He told deputies he¹d been at a nearby hotel and was trying to drive home, but he¹d already passed the area where he lives when the passer-by saw him, Woolridge said.
He may have been lost or disoriented, Woolridge said.
Copyright 2007 The Arizona Daily Star