Royal Oak, MI
An off-duty Royal Oak police officer was arraigned Wednesday on a drunken driving charge after police say he drove his car into a house located on Fifth Street, June 13.
Officer Timothy Wood pleaded not guilty before 44th District Court Judge Terrance Brennan on a charge of operating while intoxicated, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail. Wood posted a $100 personal bond.
According to Deputy Chief Christopher Jahnke, Wood's Toyota Tundra first hit a car parked on the driveway before crashing into the house at around 2:30 a.m. Royal Oak police officers responding to the incident arrested Wood at the scene.
Wood sustained minor injuries in the incident; nobody inside the house at the time was injured.
Jahnke said the department is conducting an internal investigation to determine what, if any, disciplinary action should be taken against the officer.
In the meantime, the two judges at the 44th District Court have recused themselves from hearing the case since it involves a city employee. Court Administrator Kevin Sutherland said he sent the case to the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office to be heard by a court in another jurisdiction.
"People should expect a completely impartial judicial (process)," said Sutherland.
2 comments:
It truly goes to show that when individuals in law enforcement commit a crime (such as operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and driving into random homes and potentially injuring themselves or others) it is taken as a slap on the wrist and nothing else happens... This is a slap in the face to the rest of society, especially when crimes such as this are committed by individuals who are supposed to set the bar for how we the people are supposed to act. Hopefully this individual is not working for the royal oak police anymore.
Nope, he's been promoted to Detective.
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