An off-duty Cedar Lake Police officer has been placed on administrative leave after Lake County Sheriff’s Officers arrested him for alleged impaired driving over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, police said.
The sheriff’s department has identified the officer as 32-year-old Alexander Spencer Powell.
Cedar Lake Police Chief John Gruszka said in a release Friday that Powell was taken into custody without incident July 5. He was in a department-issued vehicle, he said.
Cedar Lake police officers on patrol observed a marked Cedar Lake Police Department squad car being driven without its headlights on, according to a release from the sheriff’s department. Officers followed the vehicle as it traveled to the Cedar Lake Police Department.
After making contact with the driver, Cedar Lake officers suspected he was intoxicated, according to the sheriff’s department. Powell was detained and placed in a holding cell after allegedly refusing to submit to a preliminary breath test.
At around 4:30 a.m., at the request of the Cedar Lake Police Department, the sheriff’s department arrived to assist with the investigation, according to the sheriff’s department release.
Sheriff’s department officers took Powell into custody and he was transported to the Lake County Jail, where he was booked on a charge of operating while intoxicated, police said.
Powell later posted bond and was released from custody on July 5, the sheriff’s department said.
“The alleged actions are unacceptable and do not reflect the values or standards of this department. Law Enforcement Officers are held to a higher standard both on and off duty,” Gruszka said in a release. “When that trust is broken, it damages not only our reputation, but also the trust of our community.
“We understand that our community expects, and deserves, transparency. While there are legal and procedural limits to what we can share at this time, I can assure you that we will follow our policies and the law. If wrongdoing is confirmed, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken.”
Powell has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of both the criminal investigation and internal affairs investigation, Gruszka said.
Results of a blood alcohol test are pending and could result in additional charges, according to the sheriff’s department.