Juno Beach cop arrested on DUI rap

A Juno Beach police officer was arrested on DUI charges near Delray Beach this week.

Palm Beach County sheriff ’s deputies said Calvin McGriff, 36, appeared intoxicated when they spoke with him during a traffic stop Wednesday, and he refused to do the standard sobriety tests.

About 12:15 a.m. Wednesday, a man called 911 to report a white Ford Excursion that was “swerving lane to lane,” came close to hitting several vehicles and was speeding in the area of Military Trail and West Atlantic Avenue. The caller followed the driver, later identified as McGriff, for a while. Deputies found the officer parked in a parking lot near Woolbright and Jog roads in suburban Boynton Beach.

When deputies first spoke with McGriff, he said he was having a medical issue because of diabetes. Deputies said they could smell “the obvious odor of an unknown alcoholic beverage.” Deputies asked him several questions about his health and physical condition and whether he had an issue with his eyes. McGriff told deputies he wasn’t going to answer any more questions and if they were going to take him to jail, then they should do that.

As deputies waited for Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue crews to arrive and evaluate McGriff to see if he was having an issue with diabetes, he called his wife and told her he was going to jail, the report said. Crews found his blood-sugar level to be within normal range.

Deputies asked McGriff if he would take a standard sobriety test, but he became rude and confrontational, the report said. McGriff has been a Juno Beach police officer since 2008. He was released on his own recognizance from the county jail Wednesday.