PERRY COUNTY, Ark. — A Perry County Chief Deputy has resigned from his position after he was arrested for suspicion of DWI on Friday.
According to reports, just before midnight on October 11, a patrolman with the Morrilton Police Department witnessed a truck driving in a manner consistent with that of a possible intoxicated driver.
The officer then pulled the vehicle over, informed the driver of why he was pulled over, and asked for the driver's license of the driver who was identified as Perry County Chief Deputy Edwin Johnson.
During the stop, the officer observed an open beer can in a cup holder near the driver and an unopened beer in the other cup holder. When asked how much he had to drink, Johnson explained that they had purchased a bucket.
Johnson then proceeded to say that the open can was empty and that he had supposedly only been using it to spit in. However, the officer noticed that Johnson's eyes were bloodshot and watery.
When asked again how much he had to drink, Johnson stated that he "had about three, maybe four [beers]" though he insisted that he was "not drunk."
He was asked to step out of the vehicle so that the officer could perform a series of field sobriety tests on Johnson. After those tests were done, Johnson was asked if he wanted to blow into a breathalyzer and he responded that he did not.
However, Johnson was advised by the officer that due to the circumstances that he had observed, he was going to be arrested for a DWI.
The passenger of the vehicle, identified as Sheriff Ricky Don Jones with the Perry County Sheriff's Office was asked to have someone pick up the truck.
Johnson was then placed into the patrol vehicle and taken to the Morrilton Police Department. He was written citations for a DWI, refusal to submit to a chemical test, and driving left of center. He was released a while later.
According to Sheriff Ricky Don Jones with the Perry County Sheriff's Office, Chief Deputy Johnson resigned from his position with the Perry County Sheriff’s Office.