A high-ranking Seattle police officer who oversaw a team of officers sent to provide security at President Barack Obama's inauguration last month has been charged with drunken driving.
Lt. Donnie Lowe blew a 0.113 on a breath-alcohol test after a traffic stop Nov. 23 on Interstate 5, just north of South Michigan Street, according to a Washington State Patrol report.
The legal limit is 0.08.
Despite the arrest, Lowe was allowed to travel in January with Chief Gil Kerlikowske and a contingent of officers to join other departments in beefing up security for the inauguration. That angered some rank-and-file officers who think Lowe benefited from preferential treatment.
Only 42 officers were selected for inaugural deployment, and some believe that had a rank-and-file officer been accused of similar misconduct, he would have been reassigned or barred from such a prestigious assignment.
Lowe, who is among the highest-ranking African-American officers in the Police Department, has in recent years garnered internal disciplinary records for incidents that include a controversial arrest and striking his own son while the teenager was in a police holding cell. In the latter case, Lowe, who was off duty, was found to have used his authority to gain access to the cell, yet he did not receive harsh discipline.
A police spokesman declined to discuss Lowe's DUI case, but said that because he is in an administrative position and not out patrolling the streets, there was no potential risk to Lowe or the public that needed to be addressed by reassigning him.
"He organized the inauguration deployment, and that is his area of expertise," said police Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, a department spokesman. "It is a work product that would ordinarily come from his office. As such, it's absolutely no surprise that he would also participate and assist in overseeing it."
Kerlikowske, who reportedly has been chosen as Obama's new drug czar, was unavailable for comment last week. In 2007, he told the Seattle P-I that he had taken a hard line on officers in his department arrested for driving drunk.
Lowe, 42, who oversees police planning for big events and disaster management, is scheduled for arraignment Feb. 23 in King County District Court. Typically, an internal investigation wouldn't begin until after the criminal case is resolved.
Lowe, when reached by phone Monday, said he didn't want to discuss the case in detail without consulting his attorney.
"But I think there are some things that definitely are inaccurate," he said.
"You can't legitimately point to any special treatment I've received from the department. That just doesn't hold water."
According to a State Patrol report, a trooper heading south on I-5 spotted a black 2003 Land Rover drifting out of its lane just before 2 a.m. on Nov. 23. The vehicle crossed traffic into the adjacent lane at least three times without signaling, straddling two lanes for more than 10 seconds at a time.
When Lowe rolled down his window, his eyes were bloodshot and his breath smelled of alcohol. His pants were unbuckled and unbuttoned, exposing his underwear, according to Trooper Alicia Philips' report. A passenger, who isn't identified in reports reviewed by the P-I, was in the vehicle.
"The defendant stated he was coming from a club and he had gone to the bathroom before he left," the trooper wrote in her report.
The trooper also noticed a glass of dark-colored liquid in the middle console. Lowe told the trooper the glass contained "just pop," police reports say.
The trooper sniffed the glass and "smelled what I observed to be hard alcohol," she wrote in her report.
After field sobriety tests in which Lowe swayed heavily, the trooper asked him to turn around so she could handcuff him. Her report says, "He stated that was not a good thing. I asked the defendant why, and he stated he worked for the Seattle Police Department," court documents say.
Lowe was arrested and taken to the University of Washington Police Department, where a breath-alcohol test that was administered 45 minutes later registered his breath-alcohol content at 0.113, according to the police report.
Lowe was released to a Seattle police captain, who picked him up, according to the State Patrol. It isn't unusual for DUI suspects to be released to someone if they are not named in a warrant and don't face more serious charges.
Prosecutors were unaware that Lowe was a police officer until the P-I inquired about his case last week, said Ian Goodhew, Prosecutor Dan Satterberg's deputy chief of staff.
The case, charged Feb. 11, was among a backlog of DUI reports stretching back several months. When a DUI offender is booked into jail, prosecutors have 72 hours to file charges. But a "vast majority," including Lowe's case, aren't jailed, which gives prosecutors more time, Goodhew said.
In Washington, D.C., Seattle officers were specially commissioned to work security for the inauguration along with officers from departments nationwide.
Typically, a patrol officer accused of drunken driving would be reassigned to a desk job. Lowe's case has added to a sense that the chief treats officers differently based on their rank, said Sgt. Rich O'Neill, president of the Seattle Police Officers' Guild.
"It does appear that what happens to somebody after they have allegations made against them is different depending on their rank," he said.
A year after his promotion to lieutenant, Lowe, a former narcotics detective and patrol supervisor, was reassigned from third watch to an administrative job while he was investigated for striking and pushing his son in a holding cell. The city Attorney's Office reviewed the case but found insufficient evidence to file charges, according to department records.
Lowe was given a written reprimand. Three months later, he was assigned to the department's Homeland Security Bureau.
In addition to criminal penalties, a first-time DUI conviction results in a 90-day suspension by the state Licensing Department, unless the driver appeals. Lowe requested a hearing that was scheduled for Jan. 20, but was postponed, Licensing spokesman Brad Benfield said.
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