Tampa, Florida -- Tampa police
say one of their own, an off duty officer, was not only driving drunk, he was
driving the wrong way.
Investigators say they arrested
TPD Officer Anton Lipski, 32, early Thursday morning after he crashed his car
and failed field sobriety tests.
The wrong-way wreck landed the
officer on unpaid suspension.
Tampa Police Officer Anton Lipski allegedly
drove the wrong way down a street and crashed into a wall.
Highland Avenue turns into a
one-way road at Violet Street. Investigators say their officer had been heading
north on the southbound-only stretch, hit a median, took out a sign, then
rammed into a homeowner's wall and fence.
"Boom! I was in bed and it
shook the bed," says the homeowner, who only wants to be identified as
"Rose."
Rose says she was startled from
her sleep around 1:30 a.m. Thursday. Investigators say a Tampa police officer
crashed his car into her front retaining wall.
"I heard, 'How much have
you been drinking?' That's all I heard from the other cops," Rose says.
Tampa police say Lipski failed
his field sobriety tests and had a blood alcohol level of .16 and .18, twice
the legal limit of .08.
Neighbor Berat Yigitoglu says
he could tell. "He was really drunk. He was like this you know
(swerving)," says Yigitoglu.
"No matter what your blood
alcohol level is I think it's fortunate someone doesn't get hurt someone
doesn't get killed," says Deputy Chief Brian Dugan.
Lipski has been with the
department since March of 2013 and works as an overnight patrol officer. He
doesn't have any other disciplinary actions on his record since joining TPD
from the Gainesville Police Department.
Deputy Chief Brian tells 10
News that it's not easy to arrest one of their own, but insists the
investigation will be "by the book".
"It's probably one of the
hardest things I have to do. It's embarrassing to me. It's a disappointment as
a police officer. Our job is to keep the roadways safe and not become part of
the problem out there," says Deputy Chief Dugan.
Lipski has bonded out of jail.
No one answered the door at the family's home.
Rose just wants her wall fixed.
"Everybody makes mistakes, but you have to learn from it," says Rose.
Lipski will remain on unpaid
leave while the case works through the courts. If found guilty of DUI, the
deputy chief says Lipski could lose his job.
