Off-duty O.C. sheriff's deputy is arrested on DUI charge after crashing twice within 30 minutes

An off-duty Orange County sheriff’s deputy, who allegedly was intoxicated when he crashed his Mercedes-Benz into another vehicle and injured a passenger, had crashed 30 minutes earlier and was allowed to drive from that accident scene by fellow deputies, authorities said Friday.

Sheriff’s deputies were called Monday afternoon to a crash involving Deputy Allan James Waters, 36, and another vehicle outside City Hall in Dana Point. Deputies took a report and permitted Waters keep driving, said Assistant Sheriff Mike James.

About 30 minutes later, at 5:20 p.m., Waters crashed his Mercedes-Benz into a Toyota in Laguna Niguel, causing it to cross the center median and slam into a tree, according to the California Highway Patrol. Dolores Molina, a 78-year-old passenger in the Toyota, suffered minor injuries.

CHP officers said Waters showed signs of being intoxicated and was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence. He was released Wednesday, according to jail records.

Waters is a 13-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department, assigned to south Orange County, James said.

The department is conducting an internal investigation to determine why Waters was allowed to keep driving, James said.

Waters had been placed on administrative leave about two months ago, but James would not say why. He said the deputy will remain on leave while the investigations are conducted.

--Paloma Esquivel

Comments

[crapi]

I have a sheriff friend. This is common practice, though they usually call someone to pick up their buddy to drive them home instead of arresting them, like what would happen if a regular citizen is caught driving intoxicated. They should all be charged.

[gary]

hey thats great, drunk cops get a free pass. great keeping the streets safe for us minions who only must obey the law.

[gary]

hey thats great, drunk cops get a free pass. great keeping the streets safe for us minions who only must obey the law.

[anonymouswhoami]

The shocking thing about this article is not that the DUI cop was let go by other police officers, it's that he's driving a Mercedes Benz. If he can afford a vehicle like that on a deputy's salary, I better not hear Sheriff Baca whine about underfunding of the sheriff's department.

[Luis C]

I don't know what the big deal is here, what is so hard to understand here and why is everyone so uptight about this, PO's are above the law, please get this right, folks, the law applies to YOU, not to a PO.

[Phil]

Business as usual within the OC Sheriff's dept.

[Pat]

A law enforcement officer, of all people, should know the risks involved here. His buddies are idiots as well. Lucky for them, no one was injured or killed.

[not that drunk]

lets see what happens to this case of-drunk cop caught driving let go by fellow cops- two weeks ago a police chief in riverside ca. now this moron,what the hell is going on with our law enforcement people?!?!?!?!? i use to worrie about "kids having kids","kids with guns","kids on drugs" now i also have to worrie about"drunk cops behind the wheel" and more to the point., why are we giving badges and guns to people who are constently making bad desesions. who is hiring all these suppose "good guys"?who is the check that is suppose to watching out for these criminals?make no mistake that is what they are.does anybody feel safe anymore?!?!?!?!?

[TERRY]

CAN YOU SAY.. LAWSUIT!!

[theCanimalsHusband]

Laws only apply to the little people. They are not intended for gov't officials, celebrities nor the very wealthy.

[alan]

Luis C is right, cops don't do anything wrong. This clown will get his hand slapped because the event made the news, otherwise, he'd be at home now, sleeping it off. A Benz too! Yeah, cops got it rough. Respect the cops! Yeah...sure.

[hwneal]

Another confusing and poorly written story. Were all of the editors on a coffee break?

[El Dabe Law Firm - Orange County Accident Lawyer]

This kind of thing happens all the time. Wow, what stupidity. They let him drive home and it takes an innocent person being injured for them to be caught red-handed.

[MarkyMarked]

The only good cops is a d.....well, you know.

[taxpayer]

I SEE SOME FIRING & HIRING.

[Carl]

I used to idolize cops as a young man.

Now, I see that they're thugs and will engage in crime if they can get away with it, and as you see here.... they're buddies in law enforcement help them escape detection.

[guy eichberg]

anonymous had it right...a mercedes benz? with all of the unemployment, the hiring freezes, and the cuts to the teachers, this guy gets a free pass in his benz. whatever happened to being good for goodness sake? i am totally in the wrong profession.

[Bill and Ted]

Why do some people think cops don't make enough money to buy a Benz? This is So Cal where MBs are a dime a dozen. You can lease one for $200/month. And OCSD deputies make a LOT of money; anywhere between $100k to $200k/year with a little overtime.

But yeah, the original deputies at the first accident did a terrible job if they didn't know he was under the influence of something. If they did, they should be fired for letting him drive away from the scene knowing he was DUI of something.

[taxpayer]

wonder how many peoples he has arrested for dui?

[cali steelers guy]

i was on a date with a female deputy once . . . we were at a bar and i ordered i diet coke . . . she asked me why i wasn't going to drink wine with her . . . i said that i don't like to drink and drive . . . her response? . . . "don't worry about it, i have my badge on me" . . . draw your own conclusions . . .

[ivan]

hahahaha he crashed 2 times haha
haha way to follow the law
i bet he gets off with a slap on the wrist n desk duty

[Jessica]

OC Deputies didn't do anything different than their colleagues would do in any other department. Remember a few weeks ago when the Riverside Police Chief was driving drunk, crashed his unmarked police car and was not given a field sobriety test by the cops who stopped him?

[Lizzie]

Geez! Cops are people, too. I'm not excusing the deputy's actions, but giving a work place friend a free pass is nothing new.

[Donald]

Where is the ACLU when you need them to file suit against these double standard deputies infringing upon our safety.

The privilidged life these unionized employees lead compared to the rank file is ridiculous.

This guy will probably "cop" a disbility plea and retire at 90% of salary with huge cash buy out to purchase a new MBZ to replace his cracked up DUI wageon.

[CINDY]

There's really an investigation on why he was permitted to drive away from the first accident? It's professional courtesy, his enforcement buddies were trying to help him out... by endangering the public. Of all people who should know the rules, an officer of the law should....don't you think?