Tipp City officer on leave after OVI arrest, officials say

A Tipp City police TROY — officer was put on paid administrative leave after his arrest in Piqua early Saturday, July 13, for allegedly driving while under the influence on his way home from the Country Concert.

Officer Todd R. Daley, 30, stopped to ask police officers for directions around 2:15 a.m. and later said he was on his way home from the concert in Fort Loramie, according to a Piqua police report.

Daley pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor OVI charge this week in Miami County Municipal Court.

Tipp City Police Chief Eric Burris said Daley would remain on paid administrative leave until the court case is resolved. An internal investigation will follow the court case, Burris said.

In a report, Piqua Officer D.M. Elsass said he had just finished a traffic stop on North Main Street and was talking with another officer when he saw a vehicle eastbound on Riverside Drive with its high beams on.

“As it crossed the intersection at North Main Street and Riverside Drive, the vehicle made a right-hand turn prior to hitting our parked cruisers, leaving the vehicle straddling the curb, half in the parking lot and half in the street,” Elsass said.

Officer A.F. Kimpel wrote the officers “did not think the truck was going to stop and might enter the parking lot and hit us.”

The driver of the truck opened the window and asked officers where North Main Street was, according to the report. He said he was heading home from the concert and had missed his turn onto Ohio 48. Instead, he was on Ohio 66 and came into Piqua. The driver said he left his driver’s license at the concert and identified himself as Tipp City officer, police said.

Officers said the driver smelled of alcohol and was cooperative during field sobriety tests and at the police station. The result of the blood alcohol content test was listed on the report at 0.127.

Daley joined the Tipp City Police Department in late 2017, coming from the West Milton Police Department.