A Cheraw police officer has been fired tonight after being charged with DUI while driving his patrol car. Chesterfield Police Chief Eric Hewett says they got a call about a suspicious car parked at the Bojangles on Highway 9 in Chesterfield, around 1:15 Sunday morning.
He says officers tracked down the car and later realized it was Cheraw Police Officer David Watson in his unmarked patrol car. Hewett says they stopped him as he pulled into the drive-way of a home on West Main Street in Chesterfield. Hewett says Watson refused to take a breathalyzer and field sobriety test.
Watson was arrested and booked at the Chesterfield County Detention Center.
Cheraw Police Chief Jay Brooks tells NewsChannel 15, "David Watson is a fine officer and person who has made a very dangerous mistake. We deeply regret this for him, his family and friends, and this department," says Brooks. "He will be afforded the full "due process" of the law, as anyone would, however due to violation of several department and town policies, Mr. Watson is terminated effective immediately. The men and women in law enforcement are held to a higher standard, as are all people that work in public service."
