Whitlow: Dash and body show Columbus police officers being arrested for OVI by Ohio State Troopers
By: Whitlow, 35, was pulled over in Pickerington early in the morning.
Video shows him telling the trooper that he is a Columbus police officer. He also tells the trooper that he has been in trouble for OVI before.
"Have you ever been in trouble for an OVI before?" the trooper asks.
"I have actually, yes," whitlow replies.
"As long as you stay cooperative, then the goal is not to take you to jail. I’m going to tell you right now. You’ve got glassy eyes, the odor, the ignition, the dexterity, the driving. I’m getting the smell coming off your breath while I'm talking to you here."
Whitlow then refuses a blood field sobriety test and is handcuffed.
"I know these three officers personally," Brian Steel, Vice President of the union for Columbus police officers, said. "They are my friends. But at the end of the day, you are accountable for your actions. They are going to face administrative charges. They are going to face disciplinary charges and certainly criminal charges."
"At the end of the day, they are grown adults, and their path forward is up to them," Steel said.
A Columbus police commander talked with WSYX about what officers are facing and how alcohol can become an unhealthy coping mechanism.
"When you saw something traumatic, people said, you’ll be fine, let’s go to the bar afterwards," Commander Dave Hughes said. "Let’s go meet for a beer, and that’s how we were trained, was to deal with our problems through drinking. We’re seeing that as a profession that sometimes first responders will lean on different things to numb, escape the trauma and the things they’ve seen in streets on the job."