FAYETTEVILLE -- Sabrina Mason, a detention captain with the Washington County Sheriff's Office, was fired after she was arrested late Thursday night in connection with driving while intoxicated and driving left of center.
Mason, 44, of West Fork, was booked into the Washington County Detention Center at 1:25 a.m. Friday and released at 1:45 a.m. with no bond set. She is scheduled to appear in Greenland District Court on April 25.
Mason was driving an unmarked Sheriff's Office vehicle assigned to her at the time of her arrest, according to information posted on the Sheriff's Office Facebook page. Mason, who had been with the Sheriff's Office since Jan. 19, 1998, was fired, according to Sheriff Tim Helder. Helder said Mason had violated a number of Sheriff's Office policies.
"All of our people know they're held to a higher standard," Helder said. "To be driving an assigned, publicly owned vehicle, to be drinking while you're driving and to be arrested, I have zero tolerance for that kind of business."
Helder said the Sheriff's Office has had similar incidents in the past and those officers were also fired.
Mason was arrested after a West Fork officer saw her leaving the parking lot of the Tobo's Service Station around 11:15 p.m. A clerk in the business told the officer they had dealt with a woman earlier and believed she may have been intoxicated, according to a preliminary police report.
As he began leaving the parking lot of the service station, the officer saw a silver 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe attempting to turn left out of the parking lot. The Tahoe was parked toward the left side of the driveway, and other vehicles were slowing down to avoid hitting it as they turned into the parking lot.
The officer saw the Tahoe turn east on Wilson Street and began to follow it, according to the report. As the driver continued east, the vehicle straddled the center line. The Tahoe later drifted off the roadway and onto the shoulder before moving back into the eastbound lane.
The officer continued to follow the Tahoe until it turned the wrong way onto an exit ramp for Interstate 49, according to the report. At that time the officer turned on his emergency lights, and the Tahoe stopped on the edge of the road.
The officer spoke with Mason and immediately noticed a strong odor of intoxicants, according to the report. The officer heard law enforcement radio traffic coming from the Tahoe and asked Mason who she worked for, and she confirmed she worked for the Sheriff's Office. During the conversation, Mason asked the officer not to run her name and said she was a captain with the Sheriff's Office, according to the report.
The officer administered a preliminary breath test, which showed a result of 0.171, and asked Mason to do a field sobriety test, which indicated she was intoxicated. A second preliminary breath test showed a result of 0.194, according to the report.
Under Arkansas law, it is unlawful for a person to operate a motor vehicle if at that time the alcohol concentration in the person's breath or blood was eight hundredths (0.08) or more.
Mason was arrested and taken to the Farmington Police Department where a breath alcohol test was administered. That test showed a result of 0.181, according to the report. Mason was then taken to Washington Regional Medical Center for another test, but she refused to have the test done and was then taken to the jail.
More News
NoneDriving while intoxicated
According to Arkansas Code 5-65-103: It is unlawful and punishable as provided in this chapter for a person to operate or be in actual physical control of a motorboat on the waters of this state or a motor vehicle if at that time the alcohol concentration in the person’s breath or blood was eight hundredths (0.08) or more based upon the definition of alcohol concentration in section 5-65-204.
Source: Arkansas Code