(Photo: WPLG Local 10/YouTube)

off-duty Miami-Dade police officer was arrested last Sunday in Hollywood, Florida after being found driving a marked cruiser while drunk, police say. 

The 42-year-old Officer Leopold Louis has been on the force since 2017. He is currently suspended with pay, according to his employer.

Louis is said to have been involved in a hit-and-run.  The crash occurred at North 20th Avenue and Polk street in Hollywood, Florida. Later, officers found him driving his patrol car on the Federal Highway, according to an arrest report obtained by Local 10 News.

Additionally, Hollywood Police Officer Carlos Diaz reported that Louise smelled of alcohol, had watery, bloodshot eyes and was unable to maintain his balance. 

Diaz indicated that Louis said he did not realize the crash has occurred.

“[Louis] continued to state his friend in the marked unit was waiting on him,” Diaz wrote. “The marked unit in the area was his.”

Louis failed a series of field sobriety tests that were administered. Consequently, he was taken into custody. Afterward, he consented to a breathalyzer test and the result was a blood-alcohol content of .223, well over the state limit of .08.  

“This officer placed the public in danger in the same vehicle that the community has entrusted as a symbol of protection,” MDPD Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez said in a statement to Local 10 News. “I will not tolerate any representative of the Miami-Dade Police Department to jeopardize the community’s trust. We will allow the Hollywood Police Department to conduct their investigation with complete transparency and have complete faith in the judicial process.”

Louis could be charged with first-offense drunk driving, DUI with property damage and leaving the scene of a crash with an unattended vehicle or property. He was being held in the Broward Main Jail and has since bonded out of jail.  The officer has made no comment about his alleged actions.

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