A Newport News police officer has been charged with perjury after authorities said they found "discrepancies" in his testimony during a driving under the influence case in Newport News General District Traffic Court.
Newport News police were informed on Nov. 13 about the incident involving Officer Scott A. Mounger, 49, and began a criminal investigation. Police said the case was presented to the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office after "an extensive investigation" and multiple interviews.A special prosecutor was appointed. The prosecutor presented the case to a grand jury Monday. The grand jury indicted Mounger on one count each of perjury and falsely summoning or giving false reports to law enforcement officials.
Mounger was arrested at the department's South Precinct on Monday afternoon and later released on his recognizance by a magistrate. He is scheduled to appear in Circuit Court on Tuesday. Mounger has been placed on administrative leave without pay.
Mounger had been recognized in the past for having the most drinking-and-driving arrests in the department. He won the 2009 Chief's Award for the most DUI arrests in 2008, when he had 42. In 2007, he arrested about 60 drivers.
In a 2008 interview with the Daily Press, Mounger said he was determined to boost the number of DUI arrests after being assigned to the "target rich" Jefferson Avenue area of the South Precinct.
"In my own mind, I felt that DUI enforcement was an ignored problem," he said at the time. "I thought I'd take it on myself to see if I could get more DUIs on the precinct."
"I got aggressive and I kept thinking about something a previous officer when I was a young rookie told me, that I should identify a problem, go after it and try to be the best at it, he said in the interview. "I decided to make it DUIs. Before I knew it, I had 60."
Mounger joined the department in 2005.