A straight to jail pass was issued to Georgia State University Chief of Police Joseph Spillane after receiving a DUI by Fayetteville Police, when he failed the field sobriety test around midnight on June 18, 2017.
The 1992 Mazda Miata was seen swerving by a Fayette County Police officer on Highway 85 South in Fayetteville, Georgia. Chief Spillane said that he was headed home after drinking two beers from the local tavern.
“Around 10:30 at night I decided to go out with my wife for a drive to recap our night after attending the hot air balloon festival in Fayetteville. We went to a tavern where I drank two beers over the course of an hour and 10 minutes,” says Spillane.
During the traffic stop Spillane rejected the breathalyzer test because he says that he feels as though the portable breathalyzer tests aren’t accurate. Spillane’s wife pleaded with him not to take the field sobriety test as seen from the footage of the officer’s body camera.
“I’ve watched the field sobriety test footage about 10 times and I don’t see where I was stumbling or my speech being slurred but it’s the officer’s discretion in Georgia,” says Spillane.
Georgia State has placed Spillane on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of their investigation. The incident circulated quickly throughout the Georgia State community and some students were shocked and concerned after hearing of the arrest.
Georgia State freshman Jabarri Weston said after he received the alert of the police chief being arrested he was surprised.
“To find out the police chief was arrested for a DUI is not a really good example for the rest of the police staff here,” says Weston.
One student says that the chief is human and he makes mistakes. Georgia State junior Sara Abdulla said that she’s relieved the incident wasn’t as critical as compared to other dangerous crimes.
“This crime was less personal than a lot of other crimes that it could have been, at least it wasn’t something really bad like domestic abuse,” says Abdulla.
Spillane says that he is looking forward to his day in court to prove his innocence however, he doesn’t want the arrest to overshadow all of the good work he’s done at Georgia State, since joining the university last year.
