MIAMI — A City of Miami police officer was arrested last weekend on a DUI charge after a night out with his girlfriend, authorities said.
According to an arrest report obtained Wednesday by Local 10 News, a Miami police officer pulled over Officer Ernesto Alfonso Mendez, 35, at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday as he was driving a black Jeep near the intersection of Northwest 67th Avenue and 169th Street.
The officer requested that the Florida Highway Patrol respond to the scene and told a trooper he saw Mendez making an improper lane change at the Northwest 67th Avenue exit ramp from the Palmetto Expressway westbound.
According to the report, the officer also saw Mendez repeatedly conducting improper lane changes and failing to maintain his lane while heading north on Interstate 95, south of the Palmetto Expressway.
At one point, Mendez also impeded the officer’s right of way, forcing the officer to brake, the report stated.
According to the report, Mendez exhibited signs of impairment, including the odor of alcohol on his breath, bloodshot, watery eyes, slowed speech and diminished fine motor skills.
After being pulled over, Mendez told the responding trooper that he had been “arguing with his girlfriend, who had allegedly flirted with a bartender at their previous location,” the report stated.
The arresting trooper said Mendez refused to perform a field sobriety test and said he understood the consequences, telling the trooper, “Do what you need to do.”
The trooper said Mendez also refused a breathalyzer test at the FHP troop station, but did undergo a blood draw and set of drug screening tests at Mount Sinai Medical Center at the requirement of his employing agency, the Miami Police Department.
Mendez was arrested on one count of driving under the influence and has since been released from jail.
Local 10 News has reached out to the Miami Police Department for comment.
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