Cop arrested for assault after alleged North Carolina DWI accident
A 38-year-old man is accused of drunk driving after allegedly bumping the rear of an automobile that was stopped at a red light in Matthews Dec. 7. No injuries were involved in the rear-end collision. What followed the alleged drunk driving accident is not the usual story of a DWI investigation. Police say the woman driving the car that was struck called her son–a Charlotte Mecklenburg police officer. He was nearby the accident scene in Matthews and arrived before on-duty police were able to respond.
The man accused of drunk driving says he never saw the woman’s son arrive. He says he was trying to speak to the driver of the other vehicle involved in the rear-end collision when he was grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground. The son of the driver, who is a Mecklenburg Police officer, was subsequently charged with assault for his alleged involvement in the case.
Sources close to the officer’s family say the man accused of DWI was banging on the window. The cop, whose mother and 8-year-old son were in the car, apparently claims that he was protecting his family, according to friends of the officer’s family. Sources say the officer’s mother thought the man accused of DWI was drunk and she was afraid of what he might do if she opened her car window.
Police say they obtained breath and blood samples from the man accused of DWI. He faces DWI and open container charges. He required treatment at an area hospital after the alleged assault. He reportedly has been released from custody.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg officer is facing an assault, inflicting serious injury, charge after the encounter. He reportedly turned himself in to the Magistrate’s Office Friday and was released on ,500 bond.
Source: WBTV, “Officer charged with assaulting DWI suspect has been suspended five times,” Dec. 13, 2011
Tags: Accident, After, alleged, Arrested, assault, Carolina, North