SAN JOSE — An off-duty San Jose police officer was arrested and booked on suspicion of drunk driving after he collided with another motorist, also suspected of being impaired, at a downtown intersection late Sunday, authorities said.
The crash was reported at 11:26 p.m. near East San Fernando and Fourth streets, along the perimeter of San Jose State University, according to San Jose police. No injuries were reported.
Responding officers determined that one of the drivers was Raydarius Surry, a three-year officer with the San Jose Police Department who was off duty, and police said he “did display symptoms of alcohol influence.”
After officers performed a field sobriety test and preliminary alcohol screening on Surry, he was arrested and taken to the Santa Clara County Main Jail, where he was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor DUI and released. The other motorist was booked on suspicion of the same offense, police said.
In a news release, police stated that a formal report on the crash will be submitted to the district attorney’s office for review and evaluation for criminal charges.
Police did not release additional details, citing an ongoing administrative review of the incident. Chief Anthony Mata said he will “do everything in my authority to hold employees accountable when there is a violation of department policy or of the law.”
“I have no tolerance for behavior that does not align with the values of the San Jose Police Department,” Mata said.
Surry is expected to return to the field soon. In response to an inquiry about his department status, police issued a follow-up statement to this news organization, in which spokesman Sgt. Christian Camarillo wrote that the arrest does not meet SJPD’s threshold for taking a sworn officer off duty.
“A DUI arrest or offense does not rise to the level of any type of predatory behavior that would place any member of the community at risk,” Camarillo wrote. “There is an administrative process that drivers go through with the DMV regarding their license status after a DUI arrest. This offense does not rise to the level where we would automatically put someone on administrative leave.”
The statement alludes to a new department policy instituted in May that sidelines officers accused of serious crimes. The policy followed a scandal in which an officer previously accused of off-duty sexual battery remained on the job until his arrest this past April on allegations he was caught masturbating while responding to a domestic-violence call.
Sunday’s officer DUI arrest comes after two other alcohol-related arrests for San Jose officers that have surfaced publicly over the past few months. In May, an off-duty SJPD officer was involved in a DUI crash on Interstate 880 in Hayward, and in April, police announced that another officer was under investigation following allegations that he was drunk while participating in the police search for a kidnapped child.
Those instances prompted Mayor Sam Liccardo to call for comprehensive drug and alcohol testing for police officers, which has to be negotiated with the police union during ongoing contract talks.
Source: www.mercurynews.com