A Los Angeles police supervisor was arrested and another detained in an alcohol-related incident in Glendale early Friday morning, days after another officer was arrested in a federal smuggling case, officials said.
Officers were investigating a single-vehicle crash on Brand Boulevard around 1:30 a.m. when they realized the two individuals in the car were both employed by the Los Angeles Police Department, said Sgt. Dan Suttles, a spokesperson for Glendale police.
The Los Angeles Times identified them as Cmdr. Nicole Mehringer and Sgt. James Kelly, a department supervisor.
Suttles described the crash as minor, but said Mehringer was detained because she appeared to be under the influence.
She was not formally arrested and would not be facing charges, he added. The Times reported that she had been booked into Glendale jail.
Kelly, meanwhile, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and is expected to be charged, Suttles said.
Both were in custody a little more than three hours before being released, according to the Times.
Mehringer was promoted to become one of 20 commanders in the Police Department in March 2017 and reports directly to Chief Beck, the newspaper said.
LAPD issued a statement saying the agency is aware of the incident as well as the arrest of Officer Mambasse Koulabalo Patara, who has been charged with transporting illegal aliens after he was stopped at a Border Patrol checkpoint with two Mexican nationals in the U.S. illegally his car.
“Chief of Police Charlie Beck has been briefed on the circumstances surrounding these incidents and he is extremely concerned,” the statement read. “Personnel complaint investigations are pending for all three employees.”
A fourth officer was arrested on Tuesday, and the man — Officer John Bailey — has been charged with workers’ compensation fraud, the Times reported.
KTLA’s Chris Wolfe contributed to this report.
