MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis Police officer was charged with DUI, public intoxication and reckless driving after he allegedly drove into a column at an East Memphis liquor store while he was off duty Saturday, MPD said.
Thomas Berryhill, who is a sergeant with the department, was relieved of duty pending an investigation. MPD said Berryhill has been employed by the department since August 1993.
Officers responded Saturday evening to a crash at 1829 Kirby Parkway near Poplar. Police say Berryhill, who was not on duty at the time of his arrest, had driven over a concrete parking barrier and hit a column on the building.
A woman at that location called officers.
Berryhill told officers he struck the column because he had been driving from Florida, and told police he had eye issues and tried to hold his eyes open with his fingers during a sobriety test, according to a police statement.
Police say he did not perform a field sobriety test as instructed, and results of a blood test are still pending.
Court records show Berryhill was released on his own recognizance. No one answered the door at his address Monday.
According to the Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security, there have been 220 DUI-related crashes in Shelby County this year.
