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Perry
After his coworkers responded to a call about a reckless driver, a Nederland Police Department (NPD) officer was arrested Sept. 20 for driving while intoxicated.
According to a news release from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), Byrun Perry, 34, of Beaumont, was arrested by troopers for driving while intoxicated. Admitting he couldn't go into some details of a case under investigation, NPD Chief Gary Porter told The Examiner his officer “appeared intoxicated” at the scene.
“We’ve never had this happen here,” said Porter. “Drunk driving is a serious issue, and a police officer can kill someone just like a citizen.”
Preliminary investigation indicated that at approximately 10 p.m. Monday night, NPD officers conducted a traffic stop for a violation and suspected the driver may have been intoxicated. Realizing the alleged reckless driver was an NPD policeman, responding officers called DPS to handle the incident. Perry was arrested that night for driving while intoxicated, and he was not listed on the Jefferson County inmate roster as of Sept. 21.
NPD placed Perry, who has been employed by NPD since 2016, on administrative leave, pending an investigation into the matter. If convicted of driving while intoxicated, Perry can "no longer be a police officer," according to his current employer.