CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An officer with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is facing charges for allegedly driving while impaired.
Officer Peter Lombardo was arrested on Dec. 7 around 3 a.m. when officers say they found him parked in a grassy area along I-277 near the off-ramp to 12th Street. Lombardo was not on duty at the time, officers said, but was in his assigned and marked take-home patrol car and dressed in casual clothing.
During the sobriety tests, CMPD said Lombardo was given an Intoxilyzer test, which indicated a blood alcohol level of .17. The legal limit in North Carolina is .08.
"This officer endangered the public in the same vehicle that our community entrusted us to serve and protect in. It is a symbol of trust,” CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings said in a statement. “I will not tolerate any representative of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department who jeopardizes the community's trust in what we do every day and the standards we are sworn to uphold. We will allow Internal Affairs to conduct its thorough investigation, and I have complete faith that the outcome of this situation will be just."
Lombardo was arrested and charged with DWI. He has also been placed on unpaid administrative leave pending the investigation, CMPD said.
CMPD’s Internal DWI Policy says “any officer arrested with a BAC above .14 will be cited for termination,” according to a release from the department.
Lombardo has been with CMPD since May 2008 and is currently assigned to the Eastway Division, officials said. Jennings said Lambardo is also a member of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team.