PIQUA — UPDATE @ 5:45 p.m.:
A Piqua police officer pleaded not guilty to driving while under the influence Tuesday in Miami County Municipal Court.
Justin Augustine’s attorney, Mark Wieczorek, filed the written plea.
An arraignment had been scheduled for Wednesday morning.
Augustine was also charged with operating a vehicle without being in reasonable control.
UPDATE @ 10:55 a.m. (Oct. 30):
Body camera footage obtained by this news organization shows the moments after Piqua Officer Justin Augustine was taken back to the police station following an on-duty crash.
Augustine is facing an OVI charge and was placed on paid administrative leave because of the incident.
FIRST REPORT (Oct. 29):
A Piqua police officer is facing an OVI charge and is under administrative investigation following a crash while he was on duty.
Officer Justin Augustine, 38, is charged with OVI and operating a vehicle without reasonable control, according to records.
“The first principle in any internal investigation is the department’s duty to the public,” said Piqua Chief of Police Bruce Jamison. “The second principle is the duty to provide fair procedures to any officer involved.”
Augustine reported the Oct. 27 crash to a supervisor, according to a press release from the Piqua Police Department.
A portion of body camera footage was released Monday evening and showed Augustine saying he was “done” and “****ed up.”
This news organization attempted to contact Augustine at his home, however no one answered the door.
A police report said he told the supervisor, Lt. Rick Byron, he damaged the cruiser when he stopped in the lot to go the bathroom. A crash report said the cruiser passenger side hit a flatbed semi-trailer parked in the lot, causing heavy damage to the cruiser.
“Officer Augustine walked me to the passenger side of his patrol vehicle, where I observed significant damage to the entire passenger side starting at the front windshield and ending on the rear quarter panel,” officers wrote in a police report read. “While speaking with Officer Augustine, I observed that his eyes were bloodshot and red and that his speech was slow and slurred.”
The crash was in the 700 block of East Ash Street around 7:30 p.m., records showed.
A short time later, after Augustine had been taken back to the police station, another officer told the supervisor investigating that he felt the supervisor “needed to go on station to deal with Officer Augustine as he appeared to be impaired and was demonstrating odd behavior, to include hugging and kissing him and other officers and telling them that he loved them,” the report read.
Augustine told investigators “he had been drunk today, but denied being drunk now,” according to the report.
Police ended up finding Four Loko Gold alcoholic beverage can in the driver’s door of Augustine’s personal vehicle at the police station and also located a can of the same drink near the crash scene, the report read.
Augustine is due in court for arraignment on Wednesday and was placed on paid administrative leave.
