NORTH PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Driving under the influence charges are pending against an off-duty Philadelphia police officer who authorities say crashed into four parked cars in North Philadelphia.
It happened just after 6 a.m. Wednesday along the 1500 block of North Street in North Philadelphia.
Officials say the 40-year-old off-duty officer, who is assigned to the 22nd district, hit at least four parked cars.
One resident, who does not want to be identified, says he was asleep when he was awaken by the sound of 'boom, boom, boom.'
"Then a huge one. That was the Honda Civic hitting the wall," the man said.
A Honda Civic, one of the four cars struck, was slammed up against a row home on the block. A motorcycle was also hit.
The resident says he ran out to confront the driver who appeared to be highly intoxicated.
"He couldn't stand up. He was ready to fall over. He was drunk," the resident said.
The resident says the off-duty officer who was driving a Jeep tried to say it wasn't his fault.
"He said that a truck or a car hit him and pushed him into everything," the resident said. "I was like, 'Yo, there's no damage on the back of your car, nothing hit you, like you're lying, you're drunk.'"
Off-duty officers strike 4 parked cars. Gray Hall reports during Action News at 4:30 p.m. on August 2, 2017. (WPVI)
Then the resident says he and others at the scene got spooked when they noticed the driver had a gun.
The 40-year-old cop was taken into custody by on-duty officers who took him in for a breathalyzer:
"The breathalyzer was administered and the results were .198 blood alcohol content from the breathalyzer. That's more than twice the legal limit. The legal limit is .08," Philadelphia Police Captain Sekou Kilibrew said.
Residents on the block were dismayed over who the alleged driver turned out to be.
"It's sad, he's supposed to be a police officer and protecting the city," resident Amir Head said.
The officer, who has been with the department for four years, has been placed on administrative duty while charges against him are being reviewed by the district attorney's office.
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia police say an off-duty police officer was drunk when he crashed his car into four parked vehicles.
Now, the 40-year-old, four-year veteran is on administrative duty while the district attorney's office reviews pending charges against him including drunken driving.
The officer hit the cars in north Philadelphia about 6 a.m. Wednesday. One of the four vehicles hit was pushed into a row home. One resident who heard the crashes tells WPVI-TV they ran outside to confront the officer who could barely stand.
Police Capt. Sekou Killebrew says a breath test showed the officer's blood-alcohol content was 0.198 percent, nearly two-and-a-half times the state's limit of 0.08 percent.
Nobody was hurt in the crashes.