Officer Sentenced to 45 Days in Jail

A Los Angeles police officer convicted of driving drunk and evading a California Highway Patrol officer was sentenced Friday to 45 days in jail and three years’ probation.

Paul Lopez, 38, pleaded guilty last month to a felony charge of resisting police and to a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence of alcohol in exchange for a sentence of no more than one year in jail.

Lopez, a 15-year veteran who was assigned to the Los Angeles Police Department’s 77th Street Division when the incident occurred last year, was off duty at 8 p.m. on June 9, when he drove on the right shoulder of the Hollywood Freeway to get around a bottleneck near Vineland Avenue. CHP officers motioned to him to stop, but authorities said Lopez instead hit an officer with his car and drove down a city street until officers caught up with him. No one was hurt in the incident.

Lopez’s blood alcohol level that night was about .18%, more than twice the legal limit, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Dver.

“I felt that it was an aggravating factor that a police officer, who is uniquely aware of the dangers of driving under the influence, would not only drive under the influence, but drive in such a way that he threatened the lives of citizens,” Dver said, adding that he had requested Lopez be locked up for 210 days but Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Sandy Kriegler instead handed down the lesser sentence.

LAPD officials said Lopez is still employed by the city, but an internal investigation of the incident will now be conducted.