Authorities are investigating why an off-duty Miami-Dade officer who was found passed out drunk in his patrol car in the middle of a West Kendall intersection wasn't arrested.
Officer Fernando Villa, 32, was allowed to go home after signing a form promising to make a court appearance after he was found out cold behind the wheel of his patrol car in the area of Southwest 137th Avenue and 137th Street around 8:20 p.m. Tuesday.
According to a Miami-Dade Police arrest report, Villa was found wearing shorts and no shirt with his head tilted back in the idling patrol car.
The car was in drive with his foot on the brake, the report said.
It took several attempts at shaking Villa and yelling at him before the officers and a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue worker could get a response, the report said.
Once awake, Villa had bloodshot eyes and an odor of alcohol on his breath, and his balance was "somewhat unsteady," according to the report.
The report said Villa told officers he had a prior head injury and possible concussion "from playing ball in high school."
Villa wasn't handcuffed or booked into jail, despite explicit orders from Miami-Dade Police Director Jim Loftus to treat Villa "like everyone else," according to the Miami Herald.
"Someone along the line decided to depart from my specific directions," Loftus told the Herald Thursday. “We’re going to discover the identity of the person or persons and hold them accountable."
It's unknown how Villa made it home. Promises to appear are generally given for misdemeanors, not DUIs or felonies.
Villa has been relieved of duty with pay while the incident is investigated.
