Officer Charged With Drunken Driving, Making Threats Outside New Albany Restaurant

A police officer remained on unpaid leave Tuesday after he allegedly argued with a woman, made threats with his loaded, police-issued gun and failed a sobriety test.

According to investigators, Buckeye Lake police officer James Petrey took and failed the sobriety test after arguing with a woman about the status of their relationship outside a Tim Hortons restaurant in New Albany on Jan 12.

When the woman got into the car with Petrey, he allegedly was holding his loaded police-issued gun and threatened violence, 10TV’s Justin Moss reported.

The woman then fled the car and called police, Moss reported.

Investigators said that when officers arrived on the scene, they could smell alcohol on Petrey.

Petrey has been with the Buckeye Lake Police Department for 10 years and serves as the department’s firearms instructor, Moss reported.

According to Buckeye Lake police, Petrey was suspended from the force in 2008 for taking his police cruiser to Grove City to confront a man he said owed him money, Moss reported.

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