Veteran city police officer is accused of drunk driving

6/25/2014

A Toledo police officer was cited for drunken driving Sunday.

Officer Paul Toth, a 14-year department veteran, was stopped by an Ohio Highway Patrol trooper at 3:23 a.m. Sunday for a marked-lanes violation on westbound I-475 near U.S. 23, according to court documents. The officer was then also cited for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Affidavits filed in Toledo Municipal Court state that Officer Toth declined to take a breath test. He was not arrested at the scene and is to appear in Toledo Municipal Court on Friday.

Toledo police Sgt. Joe Heffernan said he did not have any information about the charges and that, if there was an internal investigation, he could not comment, citing a union agreement.

It was not clear Tuesday if a probe was ongoing. Dan Wagner, president of the Toledo Police Patrolman’s Association, did not return calls for comment.

Officials from the Toledo post of the Highway Patrol declined to comment on how Officer Toth got home and on any circumstances of the traffic stop citing the ongoing court case