Piqua officer charged with OVI after crash

On-duty officer said he damaged cruiser while stopping in parking lot.

Justin Augustine, 38, who was on-duty at the time Saturday, damaged his cruiser when he hit a flatbed trailer in a parking lot.

A Piqua police officer PIQUA — is facing charges and is under administrative investigation after an on-duty crash Saturday.

Officer Justin Augustine, 38, is charged with operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs and operating a vehicle without reasonable control, according to records.

Augustine reported the crash himself, asking a supervisor to meet him on the property of the former Board of Education building on East Ash Street around 7:40 p.m.

A police report said he told the supervisor, Lt. Rick Byron, he damaged the cruiser when he stopped in the lot to go the bathroom. A crash report said the cruiser passenger side hit a flatbed semi-trailer parked in the lot, causing heavy damage to the cruiser.

“While speaking with Officer Augustine, I observed that his eyes were bloodshot and red and that his speech was slow and slurred. I also observed him struggle with his balance,” Byron wrote.

A short time later, after Augustine had been taken back to the police station, another officer told the supervisor investigating that he felt the supervisor “needed to go on station to deal with Officer Augustine as he appeared to be impaired and was demonstrating odd behavior, to include hugging and kissing him and other officers and telling them that he loved them,” the report read.

Augustine told investigators “he had been drunk today, but denied being drunk now,” according to the report.

Police ended up finding a Four Loko Gold alcoholic beverage can in the driver’s door of Augustine’s personal vehicle at the police station and also located a can of the same drink near the crash scene, the report read.

Augustine is due in court for arraignment on Wednesday and was placed on paid administrative leave.

“The first principle in any internal investigation is the department’s duty to the public,” said Piqua Police Chief Bruce Jamison. “The second principle is the duty to provide fair procedures to any officer involved.”

Augustine could not be reached for comment for this story.