SAN ANTONIO – An off-duty San Antonio police officer was arrested on suspicion of DWI early Thursday morning, SAPD confirmed.
34-year-old Arthur Lopez was arrested downtown after driving the wrong way at the intersection of W. Market Street and Navarro Street, causing a two-vehicle collision accident. He was taken into custody around 4 a.m.
Lopez declined a breathalyzer and a warrant was issued for a blood draw, police said.
Records show that Lopez has been in trouble before, twice being suspended by SAPD -- once in 2014 for threatening to post nude photos of a female officer online and again in 2015 for threatening to slash a female officer's car tires.
RELATED: Full list of public safety officer suspensions from November 2013 to present
Lopez has worked with the SAPD for nine years.
Arthur did not respond to repeated questions from KSAT 12 about his future with SAPD, as he left the Central Magistrate's Office around noon.
SAPD's Public Information Office released the following statement Thursday afternoon:
“It’s disheartening to learn that an officer would get behind the wheel after he has had too much to drink and place the lives of others in harm’s way. Every officer knows the dangers of this type of behavior. Officer Lopez has been placed on administrative leave pending a full criminal and administrative investigation.”
Lopez is at least the seventh SAPD officer arrested since the start of 2017.
