The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
State police sergeant charged with DUI in crash
SOUTHBURY — A state police sergeant had about eight drinks at a colleague’s retirement party and appeared “hammered” later that night after crashing into a woman and her daughter, according to an arrest warrant charging him Tuesday with driving under the influence.
Sgt. John McDonald, of the Western District Major Crimes Unit out of Southbury, was charged with driving under the influence and seconddegree assault with a motor vehicle, police said. He was also charged with reckless driving and failure to obey a stop sign.
McDonald has been suspended from duty since Nov. 14, pending an investigation by officials into the Sept. 25 crash.
Witnesses of the crash described McDonald as "hammered" and swaying back and forth in the middle of the roadway when the first officers arrived at the scene, according to an arrest warrant served Tuesday.
Video from the Black Hog Brewery in Oxford where the retirement party was held showed McDonald drinking at least eight alcoholic beverages within about three hours, the warrant said.
McDonald turned himself in Tuesday at Troop I in Bethany. He will be prosecuted out of the Middletown courthouse since his investigative cases usually go to Waterbury Superior Court, Col. Stavros Mellekas said.
The 37yearold state trooper remains on administrative leave, officials said. He has been stripped of his police powers, including his badge and his gun after his arrest, officials said. An internal affairs investigation is also underway, said Brian Foley, executive aide to Commissioner James Rovella, who oversees the state police.
After leaving the party, McDonald ran a stop sign at the intersection of Airport Road and Route 188 in Southbury, police said.
He struck the side of another car around 7:30 p.m. that night, according to the accident report. The occupants of the other vehicle, Lisa Conroy, and her 19yearold daughter Madison Conroy, were taken to St. Mary’s Hospital.
Southbury Officer Elizabeth Alfano was the first law enforcement member on the scene of the crash, the warrant said. She described seeing McDonald swaying while standing in the middle of the road while talking on a cellphone, the warrant said.
"That guy is hammered," an offduty Oxford firefighter said. "He is not listening to me to stay out of the roadway."
McDonald told a second Southbury officer who also noted he was swaying, that he was "a sergeant with the state police," according to the warrant.
Neither Southbury officer could smell alcohol on McDonald's breath, but the second officer suspected that he was somehow "impaired" due to his behavior, which included stumbling and repeating the same comment several times, the warrant said.
McDonald was not given a Breathalyzer at the scene, because he claimed to be injured and was transported to a Waterbury hospital, police said.
He left the hospital before staff could take blood tests, which might have revealed his blood alcohol content, reports said. A "support" trooper was sent to the hospital as a courtesy, Foley said.
But there was no uniformed trooper with McDonald when he left the hospital against medical advice, Foley and Mellekas said.
Department policy bans state employees from consuming any alcohol before driving a state vehicle.
McDonald was driving an unmarked state police Chevy Impala at the time of the accident.
“This is not a reflection on everyone in the state police,” Mellekas said.
State police are reviewing video obtained from the bar and from the hospital where McDonald was taken, officials said.
“In the 55 days since the crash occurred, several searchandseizure warrants were applied for, obtained, and executed,” Mellekas said. “Video was seized from various locations and numerous witnesses were interviewed.”
He said an internal affairs investigation is underway.
State police are also investigating whether other troopers who attended the party at the Black Hog violated any laws or department policies, officials said.
Investigators are examining time cards to determine if any of the troopers at the retirement party were on duty and responded to the accident, Foley said.
McDonald was processed at Troop I headquarters and released on a courtordered written promise to appear, state police said.
He is scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Middletown on Dec. 2 for his arraignment.
The Conroys are suing over the accident. In civil court documents, they alleged McDonald was intoxicated before state police announced criminal charges had been filed Tuesday.
The suit, filed in state Superior Court in Waterbury, names McDonald, the state, and brothers Thomas and Jason Sobocinski, of the Black Hog Brewery as defendants.
The Conroys’ car was pushed 20 feet off the road by the force of the impact. Garret Moore, a personal injury attorney representing the family, said Madison suffered injuries to her wrist and arm, and her mother received damage to her eye.
Moore said Tuesday he’s glad McDonald was charged.
“I’m glad to see that they did the right thing and took responsibility,” Moore said.
Moore said the charges will now help in the civil case.
“It was clear from day one that he was at fault,” Moore said. “This just confirms that.”