A Seattle undercover police detective accused of rear-ending a car last Thursday afternoon while intoxicated was previously convicted of DUI in 1994, court records show.
Records show that the detective, John Fox, was sentenced to a year on jail for the previous DUI – but he was freed after serving only one day in a county jail and paid a $560 fine. According to court documents, Fox’s license was not suspended.
Meanwhile, the driver of a car that was rear-ended by Fox on Thursday says he was “in complete shock and absolutely terrified” after the crash.
The impact of the crash shoved Pratt’s car into two other vehicles, according to investigators, and Pratt said the detective’s unmarked vehicle made no attempt to stop before slamming into his car.
Pratt said one of his biggest fears was that his car could catch fire after the crash.
He also said Mukilteo police who responded to the accident never took a statement from him and never told him that he had been hit by an unmarked Seattle police vehicle driven by an undercover detective. They even refused to provide him with insurance information, he says.
“We didn’t get any information about who he was or what he was or anything about the situation at all,” Pratt says.
Meanwhile, police reports obtained Friday by KOMO News say six empty 50-milliliter bottles of peppermint schnapps and a nearly empty 375-ml bottle of 80 proof vodka were found on the floor of the detective’s vehicle, along with two handguns in a bag and a knife in his pocket.
The 46-year-old Fox smelled of alcohol, slurred his words, walked with a pronounced stagger and was unable to stand steadily on his own, the police report said. His eyes were watery and bloodshot.
The police report says Fox apologized to the arresting officer.
“I’m an idiot. I really screwed up,” he reportedly said.
But he refused to take a breath test or to undergo a field sobriety test. He was handcuffed, taken to the station, cited for investigation of DUI, given a court date, then released. In court on Friday, he had little to say.
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