09.11.09
DUI can happen to anyone, including police officers
This was big news in Atlanta:
Cop charged with DUI resigns
By Megan MatteucciThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Gwinnett County officer resigned Wednesday — four days after being arrested for DUI.
James Stoudenmire, 27, resigned in lieu of being terminated, Gwinnett Police spokesman Cpl. David Schiralli said.
“Members of this police department who are involved in incidents which reflect poorly on the department, will not be tolerated,” Chief Charles Walters said in a statement. “We not only owe it to the citizens of this county, but to ourselves to set the highest standards possible in professionalism.”
Police said Stoudenmire was off-duty Saturday morning when he was involved in a traffic crash on Pleasant Hill Road near Interstate 85 after leaving Wild Bill’s.
Investigators said Stoudenmire was driving a 2006 Ford Mustang when he rear-ended a 1999 tan Mazda that was stopped at a traffic light.
Stoudenmire’s fellow officers responded to the crash and determined he was intoxicated, police said. Stoudenmire was arrested and taken to the Gwinnett jail on charges of DUI and following too close. He has since been released on a $1,557 bond.
A passenger in the Mazda was treated at the scene for a leg injury, police said.
Stoudenmire worked for Gwinnett Police for four years. He was placed on administrative leave pending an internal affairs investigation, which determined he should be terminated, police said.
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