A McMinnville police officer from Smithville, who was seriously injured in a pickup truck wreck in August while off duty, appeared in DeKalb County General Sessions Court Thursday.
25 year old Bryan Officer, who was charged with DUI, possession of a handgun while under the influence, violation of the implied consent law, violation of the open container law, and not wearing a seatbelt, pleaded guilty to a lesser offense. He will avoid jail time, but he will lose his license and has reportedly decided to resign from his job. Officer qualifies for an application of judicial diversion, which means his criminal record will be cleared provided he successfully completes one year of probation. Officer must pay fines and court costs and make a $100 contribution to the economic crime fund.
Under the agreement with the D.A.’s office, Officer entered pleas to charges of reckless driving and violation of the implied consent law, which means he failed to take a sobriety test or submit to a blood alcohol test. The implied consent law requires an automatic forfeiture of driving privileges for one year. All other charges against him were dismissed. Officer’s firearm will be returned to him.
McMinnville Police Chief Charlie Sewell told the Southern Standard that Officer has informed the department that he will be voluntarily tendering his resignation Monday. Officer has been on unpaid administrative leave since the accident, which led to the charges.
Officer has been recovering at home from the injuries he received in the accident, which occurred on Friday night, August 29th on Highway 70 east at Sligo Hill.
Trooper Brian Raymond of the Tennessee Highway Patrol says Officer was traveling west in a 1988 Chevy pickup truck when he failed to negotiate a curve, overcorrected, and overturned. The truck came to rest upright on it’s wheels. Officer was ejected from the vehicle. He was taken by DeKalb EMS to DeKalb Community Hospital and later transported to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville.
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