An NYPD officer has been charged with drink driving after crashing his car while five times over the legal alcohol limit.
John Finley, 45, careered into a guardrail on a highway in Staten Island, New York, and a bottle of Georgi Vodka was found in his GMC Envoy when he was arrested.
The officer, who has served in the force for 25 years, had a blood alcohol level of 0.43 per cent more than five times over the limit – when he was detained at 10.15am on August 8, officials said.
The legal blood alcohol level while driving in the state of New York is 0.08 per cent.
He was ‘unintelligible in speech’, court documents say, and on his own when he smashed into the barrier on the West Shore Expressway.
Finley was not charged at the time as Staten Island’s District Attorney was awaiting his blood results, authorities said.
He has now been charged with aggravated drunk driving.
According to the New York Daily News, his alcohol reading was equivalent to 140lb man consuming 14 drinks in an hour.
People have been known to die with blood alcohol levels of 0.4 per cent – lower than Finley’s when he was arrested.
The cop was suspended from duty after the crash and was released without bail after his arraignment on Friday.
He will appear in court on Staten Island on November 4.
Finley and his NYPD colleague Henry Granda sued a drunk driver in 2012 after the motorist attacked them for pulling him over, the Staten Island Advance reported.
They both said they needed surgery after suffering shoulder injuries in the fight with Pavel Krut, who was 20 at the time.
He was convicted of assault, resisting arrest and driving while intoxicated.
