Memphis Policeman Charged With DUI in City Crash

By Thomas Greer | August 21, 2012

Memphis Police officer David Royal, 43 was arrested in July, following a crash that occurred about 9:45 a.m. Along with the Driving Under the Influence (DUI) charge, he was charged with public intoxication, reckless driving and refusing to submit to a Breathalyzer test.

The crash occurred at Ramill and Yale in the Raleigh area. Police investigating the crash provided details. According to their reports, Royal was driving a 2004 Saab when he rammed the back of a 2008 Nissan Maxima. They said that the driver of the Nissan suffered minor injuries.

The officers at the scene said they could smell alcohol on Royal’s breath and noticed that he was walking unsteadily. They suspected that he was drunk.

Royal, a member of the Memphis Police Department since 2005, works with that agency’s Organized Crime Unit. A decorated officer, he was presented with a MPD lifesaving medal in 2002 for saving a fellow officer, William Poteet, from a choking incident.

Royal is suspended from duty while the details of the accident are being investigated.

According to a report by usa.drunkdriving.org, there were 297 fatal accidents in Tennessee in 2008 in which at least one driver was operating a vehicle with a BAC of 0.08% or higher, with a total of 386 fatalities in accidents where at least one driver had a BAC of 0.01 or higher.

According to FBI statistics, about three fourths of all DUI arrests are men. However, the number of women driving drunk has risen. Between 2001 and 2010, the number of male drunk drivers dropped 10%, while the number of women increased by almost 36%.

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