Oregon police officer arrested for DUI will retain job pending administrative investigation

3/20/2013

An Oregon police officer who was arrested in East Toledo for driving under the influence of alcohol will stay on the job for now.

Sgt. Antonio Castillo, 44, of Perrysburg Township, will continue to work for the department pending an administrative investigation into the incident, said Police Chief Mike Navarre.

Sergeant Castillo will be arraigned Friday in Toledo Municipal Court. He was arrested early Sunday on Miami Street near the entrance ramp to southbound I-75 after a state trooper saw him driving erratically.

He refused a Breathalyzer test after he was stopped about 2:15 a.m., court records state. In Ohio, refusing a Breathalyzer results in suspension of a driver's license for one year.

Chief Navarre said a report obtained by Oregon police for the administrative investigation said Trooper Nathan Henn observed Mr. Castillo driving south on Miami in excess of the 45 mph speed limit and weaving erratically. He said Mr. Castillo refused field sobriety tests.

Chief Navarre said he had the option of placing Sergeant Castillo on paid administrative leave but instead chose to have him continue working while the case proceeds through court. He said Sergeant Castillo cannot drive department vehicles and must find his own transportation to work.

"When something like this happens, where an officer is arrested and charged with a criminal offense, we initiate a departmental investigation, which was done immediately," he said."We are waiting to see what happens with this in court and let it come to a conclusion."

In an unrelated matter, Sergeant Castillo's wife, Barbara Castillo, 31, resigned Tuesday from the Ohio Highway Patrol after receiving her second drunken driving conviction for an incident in January.

She had been on leave from her job as a dispatcher at the Findlay post since her arrest in January for driving under the influence in Rossford.

She pleaded guilty in Perrysburg Municipal Court on Feb. 8 to driving under the influence and was sentenced to four days in the Wood County Justice Center. She served the sentence last week.