Cops charged with DUI: 3 cases in CT right now

State Police Trooper Ryan Burke, left, asks Norwalk Police Officer Hector Delgado to complete a field sobriety test before charging him with DUI on Aug. 8 in Fairfield. State Police Trooper Ryan Burke, left, asks Norwalk Police Officer Hector Delgado to complete a field sobriety test before charging him with DUI on Aug. 8 in Fairfield. Photo: Screenshot Of State Police Video Photo: Screenshot Of State Police Video Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Cops charged with DUI: 3 cases in CT right now 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

Three cases involving Connecticut police officers accused of driving under the influence of alcohol have made recent headlines.

While the circumstances and charges vary, in all three cases, the officers involved were previously at police-related functions.

John Carrano

A former Bridgeport Police officer, Carrano was charged with second-degree assault with a motor vehicle after he drove the wrong way on Broadbridge Avenue in Stratford on Dec. 23, 2017.

He ran head-on into a vehicle driven by a 19-year-old granddaughter of former Bridgeport Mayor Thomas Bucci.

Police said Carrano’s blood-alcohol level was .25, more than three times over the legal limit.

He had been attending a holiday party at Vazzy’s in Stratford.

Carrano resigned from the force in October. He took a plea deal this week calling for a suspended prison sentence and probation.

Hector Delgado

Delgado, a 26-year Norwalk police officer, was more than twice the legal limit when he was charged with DUI on Aug. 8, police said, after leaving a police softball game.

His arrest could also result in discipline for other officers: State police said they are reviewing the body camera footage of two state troopers who were heard on the footage discussing how they would “minimize” Delgado’s drunken driving arrest.

State Trooper First Class Christopher Peyton and the arresting officer, State Trooper Ryan Burke, made several comments during the nearly two-hour, redacted video suggesting they were willing to help the fellow cop.

“We’re trying to minimize it. I know it might not seem that way, but we are,” Peyton told Delgado in the video.

In videos obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media, Burke is seen wrestling Delgado to the ground for allegedly resisting being handcuffed.

Delgado’s breath tests, taken later that night at the police barracks, registered 0.20 and 0.19, state police said.

Delgado was charged with driving under the influence and interfering with an officer. He appears in court on Friday.

John McDonald

McDonald, a state police sergeant out of Southbury, had about eight drinks at a colleague’s retirement party and appeared “hammered” later that night after crashing into a woman and her daughter, according to an arrest warrant.

McDonald was put on administrative leave and has been charged with driving under the influence and second-degree assault with a motor vehicle.

Video from the Black Hog Brewery in Oxford where the retirement party was held showed McDonald drinking at least eight alcoholic beverages within about three hours.

Police said he then ran a stop sign at the intersection of Airport Road and Route 188 in Southbury, and struck the side of another car around 7:30 p.m. that night.

He was not given a Breathalyzer at the scene, because he claimed to be injured and was transported to a Waterbury hospital, police said.