Cop asleep in car with booze bottles & parked on sidewalk is hit with charges

An NYPD housing cop was arrested for drunk driving after police found her off duty in her car surrounded by liquor bottles — and with a blood alcohol level more than three times the legal limit, prosecutors said Thursday.

Officer Jennifer Melendez’s blood-alcohol content was a whopping .248 when police found her alone in her vehicle near Second Ave. and E. 120th St. in East Harem Tuesday evening.

The cop’s personal vehicle was parked with its front tires on the sidewalk with its engine running and headlights on, authorities say. That drew the attention of police, who found Melendez, 39, in the passenger seat.

“I pulled over,” she told police, according to court papers.

Officers found a half-empty bottle of Tequila on the floor of the front passenger side. There was an empty can of beer and an empty bottle of vodka in the back seat, prosecutors said.

Police charged her with drunk driving and aggravated driving while intoxicated. She was released without bail after a brief arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court Wednesday.

Melendez is currently assigned to Public Service Area 6, which covers NYCHA housing complexes in Harlem, according to the website 50-a.org. It was not immediately clear how long she has been working for the department.

Her attorney Michael Martinez declined to comment when reached Thursday.

With a blood-alcohol content level of .25, most people pass out. If a person still happens to be conscious, vomiting becomes very likely as well as a complete loss of physical control. Such high level of inebriation can even lead to asphyxiation if the drinker loses consciousness and chokes on their own vomit.