We have hardly caught our breath in the wake of the Sturgis police officer who crashed his truck through a guardrail and into the trees while driving drunk, and here is another instance of a police officer drinking too much and getting behind the wheel of a car.

36-year-old Timothy Michael Thompson, an officer with the Fruitport Township Police Department for just over two years, was arraigned on December 3rd after being arrested November 22 for drunk driving on I-96 in Ottawa County. Thompson has also been fired from the police force, although Fruitport Director of Public Safety Ken Doctor declined to say if there was a connection between the driving drunk arrest and the firing.

At the time of Thompson’s arrest near the 68th Avenue exit, his blood alcohol content (BAC) was .14, which is almost double Michigan’s legal limit of .08, but not high enough to be considered “super drunk”. Sadly, he was also not alone in the car. Thompson had his three-month-old baby boy in the vehicle with him.

Thompson was released after he posted bail.  He was arraigned on charges of operating while intoxicated with a passenger under the age of 16 in the vehicle because of the driving drunk incident, which is a misdemeanor under Michigan law.  It could have been worse.  He could have also been facing charges of child endangerment .

If convicted, he is facing potential community service, jail time than could last anywhere from 5 days to a full year, along with the possibility of up to $1,000 in fines.