Juneau police officer Brent Bartlett was arrested while off-duty Sunday evening after his truck collided with another truck near the 4000 block of North Douglas Highway. He was charged with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated and felony assault, according to a Juneau Police Department release.
The release says the driver of the other truck, a 48-year-old Juneau woman, was taken to Bartlett Regional Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
JPD Deputy Chief David Campbell said other officers investigated Sunday’s crash just like any other case of driving under the influence.
“The officers that were working that responded to that accident, I’m very pleased with the fact that they handled it appropriately, that they investigated it thoroughly, that they arrested officer Bartlett for driving under the influence,” Campbell said.
Campbell said department staff will start an internal administrative investigation that will run parallel to the criminal case. That review could determine whether Bartlett remains employed with the department after the criminal case concludes.
Referring to personnel privacy rules, Campbell would only say that Bartlett started work at the department in 2010 and remains an employee. He declined to divulge any other details.
JPD officials say they don’t expect Bartlett’s absence to adversely affect routine department operations. With the police department nearly fully staffed, Campbell said they will shuffle personnel, much like they do for vacations or extended training.
“We have enough staff to cover the vacancy that will be caused,” Campbell said.
As of Monday afternoon, Bartlett remained held at Lemon Creek Correctional Center on no bail.
During a court hearing on Monday, Ketchikan District Attorney Tim McGillicuddy said Bartlett registered a blood alcohol level of 0.238% during his arrest. The legal limit for intoxicated driving in Alaska is 0.08%.
