By ANDREA POTEET
Sunday Times Newspapers
MELVINDALE – A 33-year-old Detroit man was arrested Monday after allegedly driving into a police patrol car parked in the 3500 block of Greenfield, causing it to collide with another patrol car.
About 9:30 p.m. that day, one officer was learning against the window of the patrol car talking to the driver, another officer, while his own patrol car was parked directly behind the first patrol car. The two noticed a vehicle approaching at a fast rate of speed from behind and then strike the second patrol car, pushing it into the first.
The man had glassy eyes, smelled of alcohol and spoke very little English, a police report said. The man told police he had consumed two 24-ounce beers that night. He then began to perform and fail sobriety tests without being asked to, according to the report.
A blood alcohol content test resulted in a reading of 0.17 percent, twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent in Michigan.
A records check revealed the man had never obtained a Michigan driver’s license and had one prior arrest for operating a vehicle without one. He was issued citations for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, operating a vehicle without a license and failure to provide proof of insurance.
The officer who was sitting in the car suffered pain and stiffness in his neck from the collision and was transported to Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center in Dearborn for treatment. Both officers were assigned to replacement patrol cars.