Fort Worth Police Office Charged with Intoxication Assault | Dallas, Texas Personal Injury Attorney Blog

An off-duty Fort Worth police officer has been charged with intoxication assault after crashing his truck into a Fort Worth home on Friday, April 23, 2010. According to the Fort Worth police department, officer Michael L. Buchanan’s blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit.

Investigators said the officer drove his Dodge truck through the side of a home in the 11300 block of Brownfield Road, knocking the two people out of bed. The officer is claiming he fell asleep at the wheel, but he has not offered an explanation for the alcohol levels in his blood. Not surprisingly, the homeowner Maria Garcia is not persuaded by the “I fell asleep defense” that is often raised in these situations. Mrs. Garcia commented that, “We have a big front yard. And for him to have gone across the street and into my bedroom, I just had to know, was he drunk, what happened.”

Officer Buchanan is on restricted duty pending the outcome of an administrative and criminal investigation.

Drunk driving is clearly a problem, and the problem reaches out across all walks of life. Each year, several members of various police agencies are charged with drunk driving. Despite the fact that we count on these police officers to be in control and to enforce the laws against drunk driving, we continue to see stories such as this where it is the officer who is charged with an alcohol related offense. These first responders are often the first ones to arrive at the scene of drunk driving wrecks, and they see first hand the injuries, the deaths and the tragedies associated with drunk driving, yet the story repeats itself. We need better laws to punish drunk drivers and to discourage drunk driving because drunk driving is a danger that affects all of us.

Montes Law Group, L.L.P.

Attorneys: Rachel Montes and Tom Herald

1121 Kinwest Parkway, Suite 100

Irving, Texas 75063

Telephone: (214) 522-9401

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