Miami police officer passed out in a car with a gun will be charged with DUI, prosecutors say

A Miami police officer was arrested for a DUI Tuesday morning after officers found him passed out in his car, music blaring and a gun in his lap.

Joevanih Sauvagere, a 31-year-old police officer with the department since 2017, was arrested Halloween morning around 8 a.m. on one count of driving under the influence. Arrest reports show that his breath smelled of alcohol but he refused a field sobriety test.

He was transferred to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. NBC 6 Miami reported that he posted his $1,000 bond and has been released.

Miami Chief of Police Manuel Morales told press Wednesday that Sauvagere has been relieved of duty, and called the act "self-destructive."

"We don't know what Officer Sauvagere is dealing with, but we definitely are cognizant that his behavior is unacceptable...and he's be held accountable for his actions" Morales said. The circumstances leading up to the incident are under investigation.

Sauvagere did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's phone call and emailed request for comment.

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Fellow officers held Sauvagere at gun point as he struggled to stay awake

A Miami-Dade School Board officer responded to reports of someone sleeping behind the wheel of a car on a highway offramp Tuesday morning. When the officer tapped on the car window, he heard loud music and Sauvagere turned it down as he came to and rolled down the window, the police report states.

Sauvagere struggled to put the car in park at the officer's command, causing the car to roll back approximately two feet. The responding officer noticed a gun in Sauvagere's lap, and held him at gunpoint.

The arrest report states that Sauvagere was nodding in and out of consciousness, and so other Miami police officers on the scene grabbed the gun out of his lap.

Sauvagere was detained and described in the police report as having bloodshot and watery eyes, droopy eyelids and smelling of alcohol. He refused a sobriety test and requested fire rescue response because he did not feel well, the arrest report states.

Sauvagere was then taken into custody.

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