A Columbus police officer who was honored for bravery after being shot five years ago plans to resign from the force after pleading guilty yesterday to his second drunken driving offense in a year. "I have greatly embarrassed myself," said Sgt. Joshua K. Wagner, 33, who also pleaded guilty to improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle because he was carrying his police gun at the time of his arrest.

A Columbus police officer who was honored for bravery after being shot five years ago plans to resign from the force after pleading guilty yesterday to his second drunken-driving offense in a year.

�I have greatly embarrassed myself,� said Sgt. Joshua K. Wagner, 33, who also pleaded guilty to improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle because he was carrying his police gun at the time of his arrest.

Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Charles A. Schneider suspended his driver�s license for one year and fined him $550 for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, a first-degree misdemeanor.

The judge placed him on probation for one year for the firearms offense, a fifth-degree felony.

Schneider also imposed a 10-day jail sentence for the OVI conviction, but credited Wagner for the 10 days he spent in jail after his arrest. The judge said he could be sent to prison for eight months if he violates probation on the felony charge.

Wagner was granted limited driving privileges to work for a relative and attend counseling sessions and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Defense attorney Mark C. Collins said his client has begun the process of applying for disability because of post-traumatic stress related to the shooting and will leave the police division soon as part of that process.

He said Wagner, who joined the force in 2002, plans to relocate to Florida.

�He tarnished the badge that he did such a fine job of protecting for so many years,� Collins said.

Wagner apologized to the court, his family and the police division during a brief statement.

Wagner was struck in the face by a bullet that shattered the windshield of his cruiser as he responded to the scene of a shootout on N. 4th Street in the University District on Sept. 7, 2009. He and another officer who was shot during the incident received Purple Heart medals from the division a year later.

Wagner was arrested on May 26 when police responded to a report of a motorist driving the wrong way on Neil Avenue who had parked near the intersection of King Avenue with two wheels over the curb, said Assistant Prosecutor John Gripshover.

Officers found Wagner passed out behind the wheel. His blood-alcohol level was 0.278 percent, Gripshover said. In Ohio, a person is considered to be driving drunk at 0.08 percent.

Eight months earlier, officers found Wagner passed out in his car on E. 2nd Avenue in Italian Village. He recorded a blood-alcohol level of 0.181 percent.

He pleaded no contest to OVI in that case. A Municipal Court judge fined him $375, ordered him to attend alcohol-abuse classes and suspended his driver�s license for six months.

Wagner has been on unpaid leave since Aug. 22, a police division spokeswoman said.

jfutty@dispatch.com

@johnfutty