Police arrested an off-duty Jefferson County Public Schools security officer this week after police say he was drinking alcohol in his government vehicle. Upon a search, police also found hydrocodone and Ambien, neither of which the JCPS officer had a prescription for.
Christopher “Mike” Minniear has four charges, including possession of an open alcoholic beverage in a car, tampering with physical evidence and possession of controlled substances.
According to arrest records, Louisville Metro Police Department officers responded to a call Monday evening from employees at the McDonald’s restaurant in Auburndale about “an intoxicated individual.”
The employees said Minniear was drinking Bud Light in his car in the drive-thru lane before he passed out, “sitting in line for a[n] hour without moving.”
The arrest citation says when officers arrived they found Minniear in his government-issued vehicle nearby “parked across several parking spots.”
When officers approached, Minniear opened the driver’s side door and “poured out a dark brown liquid that [officers] believed to be alcohol from the smell emitting from subject[‘]s area.”
When questioned, Minniear told police the liquid was his own urine.
“Based on officers[‘] training and experience, [officers] believed liquid was alcohol,” the report says.
LMPD officers searched the car and found a large partially consumed liquor bottle of “dark brown liquid,” and a partially consumed can of Bud Light in the center console armrest. They also found hydrocodone and Ambien pills hidden inside a McDonald’s burger box, according to the arrest report.
Minniear’s JCPS security officer duty gear was in the back seat, police say.
Minniear blew a .019 blood alcohol level when breathalyzed, below the legal limit of .08.
According to JCPS spokesperson Carolyn Callahan, Minniear resigned Tuesday.
Minniear did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
