TROOPER ACCUSED OF DUI IN NORWICH APPLIES FOR PRETRIAL ALCOHOL DIVERSION PROGRAM

Norwich — State police Trooper Sarah Starkey, accused of driving while intoxicated last month, applied for the Pretrial Alcohol Education Program in Norwich Superior Court on Thursday morning and is due back Dec. 20.

Starkey, a 34-year-old who works out of Troop E in Montville, has been suspended since her Nov. 11 arrest.

Police said they pulled over Starkey after a caller reported an erratic driver on West Main Street. They charged her with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, evading responsibility, failure to drive right and unsafe movement of a stopped vehicle.

Police haven’t turned over the arrest report despite being required to do so by law. They haven’t explained how they determined Starkey allegedly was intoxicated or why they charged her with evading responsibility, which is levied when motorists knowingly injure people or damage property but fail to stop.

The Day has filed a complaint with the Freedom of Information Commission in the case.

Starkey said in court she hasn’t been convicted of driving under the influence in the past. She’ll learn Dec. 20 whether she’s eligible for the alcohol education diversion program, which would allow her to complete a course in exchange for the dismissal of her charges.

Outside the courthouse, Starkey’s Hartford-based lawyer, Rob Britt, declined to comment because the case is ongoing.

Starkey worked as a New London police officer before joining state police in 2013.