Dallas Police Officer Arrested on Suspicion of Drunken Driving After Getting in a Car Accident, Warrant Shows

Updated at 3:45 p.m. to include arrest warrant information.An on-duty Dallas police officer was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated Saturday afternoon, the police department said Sunday.Police officer James Covey, 33, was arrested about 5 p.m. Saturday.According to an arrest warrant affidavit, two officers responded after Covey drove into high water in the 4500 block of Elsie Faye Heggins Street in South Dallas. Covey staggered out of the car and seemed disoriented, the affidavit stated.An officer found an empty plastic cup in the car that smelled of alcohol, according to the document. Covey was transported to Baylor University Medical Center, where officers performed an eye test and found signs that he had consumed alcohol, according to the affidavit.Covey at first denied that he had consumed alcohol or knew what was in the plastic cup, but eventually admitted that the cup had whiskey in it and that he had consumed some that morning.He repeatedly insisted that he was not drunk or drinking in the car, according to the affidavit.“I don’t know why I’m getting arrested for DWI when I wasn’t even driving,” Covey said, according to the document.Covey, who lives in Mesquite, has worked for Dallas police since January 2008, according to the department. He’s currently assigned to the southeast patrol division. The Police Department has placed him on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.Records show Covey was booked into the Dallas County jail at 12:30 a.m. Sunday before being released.  Continue reading...