While it is not entirely unheard of for police officers to be charged with DUI, the large majority of these arrests occur when a police officer is off duty in a private vehicle.

This was not the case with Officer Gregory Simmons. Simmons was in town for the Criminal Justice Training program at Eastern Kentucky University, staying at a local hotel and using his cruiser during the week-long program. The 42-year-old officer was out at a restaurant Thursday night; he got his car stuck on a curb after leaving the dinner.

The stuck car grabbed the attention of individuals dining in the restaurant, and they called police to report the cruiser in trouble. In the meantime, witnesses also helped free the car from the curb, so Simmons was gone when police arrived. Since Simmons was in his Newport police cruiser instead of a local Richmond cruiser, the witnesses were able to identify him to officers who did report to the scene.

When officers pulled Simmons over for suspicion of DUI based on witness reports, he refused a breath test. He was released of his own recognizance the next morning, but officers did charge Simmons with DUI.

The news website Cincinnati.com points out most officer do take their cruisers with them to attend training programs. This presents a unique situation where an officer will be using his or her cruiser when off-duty, which rarely occurs in other situations. When not in class, the officers will be able to use the cruisers for their own personal errands, such as dinners out, which can lead to issues such as DUI drivers in police vehicles.