On-duty HPD officer held on DWI charge

An on-duty Houston police officer was arrested Sunday night on a drunken driving charge after a citizen reported that he smelled of alcohol and was “acting strangely,” according to court records.

The officer, Chad R. Hogue, was arrested just before midnight in the 13000 block of Galveston Road. Records show he had been driving a marked Houston Police Department vehicle.

Hogue has since been relieved from duty pending the outcome of an internal investigation, Houston police spokesman John Cannon said. Hogue joined HPD in 2010 and worked as a homicide investigator until May 2019. He was most recently assigned to the Clear Lake division.

Chief Art Acevedo later called Hogue’s actions “disappointing” in that he “endangered members of the community and HPD through his actions.”

The scene Hogue responded to around 8 p.m. was in the 9200 block of Nathaniel Road, records show. There, a civilian told Hogue’s fellow officers that he may have been recently drinking.

Around 11:30 p.m., Hogue was asked to meet a sergeant at a Clear Lake-area gas station along Galveston Road, where he told the officer that he drank about seven glasses of Jameson whiskey with beer at home between 5 p.m. Saturday and 3:30 a.m. that morning. He ate some cinnamon rolls at home and started his shift around 10 a.m., he said.

The sergeant said Hogue appeared to have glassy eyes, slightly slurred speech and alcohol on his breath. When asked about recent medication, Hogue said he had been taking antibiotics for a recent cut to his head from an injury that also gave him a concussion.

Hogue was unable to maintain his balance during a sobriety test and later failed a breath test, according to court records.

After Hogue was taken to the Joint-Processing Center, authorities looked through his duty bag and found a cold can of Miller Lite with about an ounce left. The can was attached to a plastic ring that holds a six-pack of beer.

Sean Teare, the vehicular crimes chief of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, said he believes Hogue was likely drinking on duty.

“At the end of the day, it’s good that the other officers identified it as a problem and didn’t try to cover it up,” Teare said. “They did what they would have done with any other civilian. They treated it the same and arrested him.”

Hogue has since posted a $100 general order bond.