A police incident report, released to NewsChannel 15 Tuesday, says Cheraw police officer David Watson locked himself inside his home June 3rd as officers were trying to perform a field sobriety test on him for suspicion of Driving Under the Influence.
The 35-year-old officer is accused of driving drunk in his unmarked 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 a.m on June 3. The caller said the driver was backing around in circles with the headlights off.
Hewett says his officers tracked down the car and later realized it was Watson in his unmarked patrol car. Hewett says they stopped him as he pulled into the drive-way of his home on West Main Street in Chesterfield.
The police report says Watson was barefoot and wearing a t-shirt and shorts, was unsteady on his feet, had slurred speech and smelled of alcohol.
The report says Watson refused a sobriety test and a breathalyzer and then locked himself in his house.
When Watson refused to open the door, one officer left to get a search warrant. When he returned the other officers had already talked Watson into coming out.
Police charged Watson with DUI and took him to the Chesterfield County Detention Center.
Watson was fired from his position as a detective with the Cheraw Police Department hours after his arrest.
"David Watson is a fine officer and person who has made a very dangerous mistake," said Cheraw Police Chief Jay Brooks. "We deeply regret this for him, his family and friends, and this department. He will be afforded the full "due process" of the law, as anyone would."
