WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) – A former Wausau police detective has been charged with showing up to work drunk and armed this summer.
Lincoln County district attorney Don Dunphy, who is acting as a special prosecutor in the case, charged Charles Knapp with his second operating while intoxicated offense and operating a vehicle with a prohibited alcohol concentration.
Knapp will make his initial court appearance in Marathon County December 15th. He faces up to six months in jail on each of the two misdemeanor counts. Knapp was convicted of his first drunken driving charge in October 2004.
Knapp resigned from the department after Labor Day.
Fellow Wausau police officers smelled alcohol on Knapp's breath when he showed up to work late August 30th to investigate a suicide, according to a Marathon County sheriff deputy's report. Officers took away Knapp's .40 caliber Glock service weapon.
Knapp failed three field sobriety tests. Police took Knapp to Ministry St. Clare's Hospital in Weston for a blood draw before releasing him to his wife. A toxicology report shows Knapp had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.133, above the legal limit of 0.08.
Officers found a 1.75 liter bottle of Fleischmann's vodka in Knapp's squad car. The bottle was a quarter empty, according to a police report.
