A 12-year veteran officer of
the Troy Police Department has been charged in a drunken driving case following
a nearly three-week investigation.
An internal investigation
remains underway and the officer is on administrative leave.
Candace LaForest, 34, pleaded
not guilty Tuesday morning in Troy District Court with operating with a high
blood-alcohol content, a misdemeanor that carries up to a 180-day jail stay
upon conviction, according to Michigan’s super drunk laws.
The 34-year-old, who has been a
sworn officer since 2005, had personal bond set at $1,000.
Oakland County Prosecutor
Jessica Cooper said Troy’s district judges had been considering whether to
recuse themselves from the case, slowing the process. They did so after
LaForest’s arraignment, and the case is now being reassigned to another court
that hasn’t been named yet. A future court date will be scheduled.
The investigation stems from a
traffic stop around midnight Jan. 18 when LaForest was in a pickup truck headed
eastbound on Big Beaver, near Rochester Road. Patrol officers said they saw the
driver hit a median curb twice.
Police approached the driver,
identified her as LaForest — who was off duty — then detected a “very strong
odor of alcohol coming from the driver and compartment area,” according to
police reports.
She refused to take a
Breathalyzer test and was arrested for operating while intoxicated, but a blood
sample was taken and submitted to Michigan State Police for analysis, police
said.
The results, which returned
from the lab about a week later, indicated that the driver had a 0.27 percent
blood alcohol content — more than three times the legal limit of 0.08 to drive
a car, prompting the charges.
The blood draw in lieu of the
Breathalyzer test slowed the process, said Troy Sgt. Andy Breidenich.
“Most drunk driving cases where
there is a blood draw take a month or more while we’re waiting for blood
results … then you have to review, submit to prosecutors and await the signing
of a warrant … then come charges,” he said.
Troy Capt. Robert Redmond added
that officers personally handled the criminal investigation — and he is heading
the internal investigation — in an “expeditious manner,” to avoid accusations
of “stone-walling” the investigation.
“We drove (the case) there (to
the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office) in person, got blood-alcohol results
from the Michigan State Police in five days,” he said. “Also, it takes time to
set a date with an attorney, so we let it go through the proper course ... but
she will be held accountable for her actions.”
LaForest has been with the Troy
Police Department since 2001. She started her career as a civilian employee in
various units, then was sworn in as a uniformed officer in 2005.
