A Battle Creek police officer who was a passenger in a 2012 drunk driving crash has been placed on administrative leave for an incident involving alcohol.
Officer Jennifer Appl came to work Saturday with the smell of alcohol on her breath and was given a Breathalyzer test, sources close to the investigation told 24 Hour News 8.
She was then placed on administrative leave, Battle Creek Police Chief Jackie Hampton confirmed.
Hampton said the incident will go to the Human Resources Department and the City Manager's Office on Monday. He also said he will ask Michigan State Police to investigate.
Hampton declined to comment further, citing "legal" reasons.
Appl was the passenger in the July 31 crash in which a fellow officer crashed through mailboxes and street signs. At the time, according to a police report obtained last year, her blood alcohol content (BAC) level was .369. Driver William Gensch's BAC was .285.
Gensch was disciplined in connection to that crash, but Appl was not.
Appl has previously had trouble with alcohol, records obtained last year by 24 Hour News 8 show. She lied about failing to report to work in May 2012, the records say, because she was "too embarrassed to say [she was] in the hospital due to alcohol."
In a letter dated July 27, four days before the crash, Battle Creek Police Chief Jackie Hampton wrote to Appl that he had suspended her for 15 days. He also threatened to fire her for future "untruthful statements."
"The allegations against you are extremely serious," Hampton wrote. "I am especially concerned in regards to these allegations being related to the consumption of alcohol, and encourage you to take part in the services that have previously been offered to you."
In a letter dated July 27, four days before the crash, Battle Creek Police Chief Jackie Hampton wrote to Appl that he had suspended her for 15 days. He also threatened to fire her for future "untruthful statements."
"The allegations against you are extremely serious," Hampton wrote. "I am especially concerned in regards to these allegations being related to the consumption of alcohol, and encourage you to take part in the services that have previously been offered to you."
Appl signed that letter on Aug. 1, the day after the crash.
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