FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A North Bay Village Police officer has been suspended from his duties after he was arrested by Pembroke Pines Police for driving under the influence.
According to police, James McVay was out of uniform at the time of his arrest, but he was driving his marked police cruiser — with his emergency lights on — the wrong way on U.S. 27 and nearly caused a head-on collision by swerving before an officer pulled him over on the 2300 block of the highway on Wednesday night.
Police said when they tried to pull McVay over, he “placed his hand outside the window and began to wave,” adding that “he gave me a thumbs out the window.”
Police impounded the cruiser and charged McVay with DUI.
This is not the first time McVay has been in trouble for an alcohol-related offense. At the height of Hurricane Irma in 2017, he and five other officers were drinking Corona Lite on the job while sitting in the conference room at North Bay Village City Hall.
According to the arrest report, the police officer who pulled McVay over said he “had vomit on the chest of his shirt.”
McVay was released from the Broward County Jail after he posted bond Thursday morning.
Upon walking out of the jailhouse, McVay refused to comment on the events of his arrest.
The North Bay Village Police Department released the following statement about McVay’s case:
“The North Bay Village Police Department was made aware that one of our officers was arrested last night by the Pembroke Pines Police Department for Driving Under the Influence. The NBVPD has zero tolerance for this offense nor any other criminal behavior. These actions are contrary to the values of the Police Department and the entire Village. The officer is being suspended from his duties, and an Internal Affairs investigation has already been initiated. This investigation will be handled expeditiously, and any further action deemed appropriate will be taken once the Internal Affairs case is closed. Due to the pending status of the investigation, the Village will not be providing any further comment.”
McVay has since been suspended from the department.
North Bay Village Police said that other than announcing McVay’s suspension and launching the investigation, they will not comment on the case until the internal affairs investigation is over.
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