Criminal charges are being pursued against a Mesa police officer for criminal damage and providing false information to a law enforcement officer after he is alleged to have crashed his SUV at Gilbert Town Square last month and left the scene.
Mesa police officer Brent Frasier, who has been with the Mesa Police Department since May 2000, has been on paid administrative leave since the off-duty incident Dec. 5. Frasier admitted to drinking alcohol before the incident, but a Gilbert police spokesman said DUI charges will not be pursued against Frasier.
Instead, the Mesa Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit also has launched an investigation into the incident to determine if he violated any department policies, according to Sgt. Ed Wessing, a department spokesman. Wessing said Mesa will wait on the outcome of the Gilbert Police Department's investigation before it determines if and how Frasier will be disciplined.
Although Frasier admitted to drinking alcohol before the incident at Gilbert Road and Civic Center Drive, a Gilbert police spokesman said there are legal limitations that prevent DUI charges from being pursued because too much time elapsed before Frasier admitted to the details surrounding the crash.
Police found Frasier's badge on the ground near his Chevy Tahoe and a loaded Glock .22-caliber pistol on the floor of the vehicle, according to a Gilbert police report.
"We don't have adequate physical evidence to pursue a DUI charge," said Sgt. Mark Marino, a spokesman for the Gilbert Police Department. "Under state law, to establish someone was driving under the influence, they must be tested within two hours of driving after the incident to determine whether the blood alcohol content was .08 or higher.
"There was a time lapse in that he was unaccounted for more than two hours, and because of that, we were unable to establish what his BAC (blood alcohol content) level was."
