The Virginian-Pilot
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VIRGINIA BEACH
Police Officer Bryan K. Womble began serving a five-day sentence Monday for drunken driving and hit-and-run, according to the jail log.
A General District Court judge convicted Womble of the charges Sept. 21 and issued the sentence. His attorney immediately appealed to Circuit Court but has since dropped the case, according to court records.
The Police Department can now move forward on its administrative investigation, which will determine Womble's status in the department, said Officer Adam Bernstein, a police spokesman.
Womble has been on administrative duty since his arrest on June 20.
Womble, 37, was a member of the Police Department's Traffic Enforcement Team, which specializes in enforcing drunken-driving laws. He arrested retired NFL star Bruce Smith for drunken driving May 15.
Judge E.L. Turlington Jr. suspended Womble's driver's license for one year and ordered him to pay a $500 fine, attend alcohol safety awareness classes and use an ignition interlock device for six months.
Womble's attorney, Larry Slipow, was not immediately available for comment Tuesday.
Womble was arrested at the Oceanfront after a crash with another vehicle. He registered a 0.15 blood-alcohol concentration, which is nearly twice the state's legal limit to drive.
Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com
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VBPD!
I am a former VB Police Officer. I will say this, the VBPD do NOT look out for their own. They have NO sense of brotherhood. Believe me, even without there being another person involved with this accident, they would have arrested Womble. This department is also very bigoted, they HATE gay people, and yes they are OVER-Zealous! You would be surprised at the immaturity of the Officers on the VBPD. It's like a damn soap opera! All they do is ist around, tell gay jokes, wonder who is screwing who, and talk about how screwed up the public here is. I'm glad im not apart of that organization any longer!
alot of support
For all of you who wish "harsher punishment" I would like to take a second to inform you of the law according to the commonwealth of Virginia. DUI is a class 1 misdemeanor. Punishable by UP TO 1yr in jail and/or $2500 in fines. Thats it! If you have a problem with the laws of the commonweath, then may I suggest moving! As for Officer Womble. NONE of you have walked a day in his shoes. You couldnt possibly have known what was going on in his life. FYI its just a job. Officers have families, and if you can believe it they have problems too. If you dont like the way the police treated you when you got arrested STOP BREAKING THE LAW! Some of you are absolutely ridiculous. Officer Womble unlike a majority of you had plead guilty and accepted his punishment. I wish more people in this world would learn how to accept responsibility.
5 days for a DUI??? in Uniform???
This is an injustice to all of us who don't drink, pay our taxes and keep our selves out of trouble. This man was representing moral standards and decency and he made a mistake that was completely avoidable. I am rather repulsed by people saying DUI is an honest mistake. It should be treated like attempted murder. Per capita, more people die at the hands of drunk drivers than by terrorists, serial killers etc. I honestly feel if they treated DUI like a capital crime, less people would drink and drive.
Heartbroken
I am saddened by all of this...
Saddened that someone who was regarded as a good effective cop has lost his career over a stupid stupid mistake. He will regret this decision for the rest of his life. As he should be very very thankful it was only his job, reputation and integrity that was lost. It could have been a life that was lost. His punishment will go beyond his well deserved sentence awarded to him by the judge.
Mostly I'm deeply saddened by the comments on this story regarding the discontentment that exists against the men and women that serve this city. I read post after post of closed minded people that have no nerve to put on that uniform and do this job. They can only sit behind their computers and criticize. I'm glad they are perfect at everything they have ever attempted in their lives in which gives them the ability to pass this kind of judgment against the very people that will actually take a bullet to protect them...
My husband is a VB cop, and I worry that enforcing (they don't create) the laws that YOUR lawmakers put into effect will prevent him from coming home at night. I worry every car he pulls over may be the "one". So I'm sorry if they may
Wow Five Whole Days
And this is someone who is supposed to be protecting us. I feel so safe. But seriously, the various police officers I've encountered directly or indirectly don't deserve to be in this profession. They need to do better recruiting.
Serves Him Right
"You did the crime, now do your time"; how is it that an officer who specializes in stopping a certain type of crime would also be the one committing it? As a citizen who has never even ran a red light I am disappointed that this type of hypocrisy takes place.
Serves Him Right
"You did the crime, now do your time"; how is it that an officer who specializes in stopping a certain type of crime would also be the one committing it? As a citizen who has never even ran a red light I am disappointed that this type of hypocrisy takes place.
really big picture
Probably now would be more of a compassionate cop instead of busting everyone, for everything, every situation (when the overly strict law allows). The system can and is unforgiving thanks to the cancer of political correctness of DUI enforcement.
I'm not for ending guys like this career's because it only helps make them smarter and less robotic, and helps them see how sometimes the law can be over-zealous in some areas, and not enough in others. After all police officers are humans and have social lives like everyone else. Not many in this worlkd can live like Monks or the puritanical self-righteous. I feel really bad for the guy who only looks silly becuase of the irony of the case.
Logic, please?
So, when is it okay to drive drunk? When you've just had a bad breakup with your boyfriend? When all your stupid friends left you at the bar and you just had to get back to the frat house? Tell that to the people that are killed by drunk drivers, laws are there for a reason. They are unforgiving because a three thousand pound steel object is unforgiving when it is plowing across the median into oncoming traffic.
Good luck...
I've observed VBPD for years from various perspectives, and the one thing that nearly always (not always) seems to rise to the top is an overzealousness. I can't explain why it is that way here, but I feel like I'm in a "papers please" zone when around the oceanfront or TownCenter at any time after dark. Serve and protect? I don't think so, but it's a catchy slogan for the side of a police cruiser, but hard to read sometimes (see below).
I saw two (2) VBPD cars heading south on Atlantic Ave late this past Saturday night (about 1:30am) going at least 55-60mph, both of them a few minutes apart! Now, I don't know what sort of call warrants that sort of reckless endangerment of the public, but that could have been ugly.
Imagine a pedestrian crossing Atlantic Ave (25mph speed limit) and getting hit by a police car going more than twice the posted speed limit... Mm, mm, mmmmmmmmmmmmm!