Seven LAPD officers have been arrested on suspicion of DUIs including three who were allegedly caught at more than twice the legal limit. Eric Leonard reports for the NBC4’s I-Team on Dec. 19, 2022.
Seven LAPD officers have been arrested in the last two weeks alone on suspicion of driving under the influence or other alcohol-related incidents, including at least three officers allegedly caught at more than twice the legal limit, LAPD officials confirmed to the NBC4 I-Team.
Some of the arrests followed traffic collisions that caused injuries, but the LAPD has not publicly provided any detail on when or where the arrests happened, or the seriousness of the injuries.
The crashes and arrests prompted department commanders to send a warning email to officers over the weekend to remind them, the sworn police officers who enforce DUI laws, that driving drunk is dangerous, and it said in part, “The consequences can be devastating. Do not risk your life or your career!”
The LAPD confirmed the arrests and the messaging Monday.
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"Over a short period of time leading up to the Holidays, the Los Angeles Police Department has seen an increase in alcohol related incidents resulting in arrest," said Captain Kelly Muniz in a written statement.
"The past weekend an all hands operation took place to craft messaging warning officers of the trend of Driving Under the Influence arrests and resources available to them," she wrote.
"Our Behavioral Sciences clinicians have created additional training and employee meetings to prevent future incidents. Although alcohol resources and training are available to LAPD personnel, this does not take the place of criminal and administrative accountability processes that have been initiated and will be carried out."
Officers driving under the influence while off-duty has been a persistent problem at the LAPD for many years, blamed by some department insiders on wildly inconsistent punishments for officers caught-in-the-act, and the ability of almost all first-time offenders to sometimes avoid any punishment by admitting they have a substance-abuse problem and agreeing to enroll in treatment.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE - OFF DUTY DUIs
Unlike the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s departments that have specific disciplinary consequences for misconduct, such as DUI arrests, each LAPD case is handled individually. Back in 2018 when the I-Team first began digging into LAPD officer DUI cases -- punishments ranged from written reprimands to terminations, with most officers arrested for DUI receiving a suspension but keeping their jobs.
In 2017 an off-duty LAPD officer allegedly driving under the influence caused a high-speed crash on the 605 Freeway in Santa Fe Springs that killed a young man and his parents. Officer Edgard Verduzco is still awaiting trial on three counts of murder, according to court records.
In 2018 an off-duty Van Nuys division officer veered off the northbound 14 Freeway in Palmdale while under the influence of alcohol and collided with a parked car. The two people inside the parked car were seriously hurt. The officer pleaded guilty to a single charge in a plea bargain in 2021, and according to City records, remained on the LAPD payroll in 2022.
