At least four officers are under investigation for alcohol-related offenses since Jan. 1

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WEBVTT INVESTIGATES A RECENT RASH OFPOLICE OFFICERS ACCUSED OFDRIVING DRUNK.>> COME ON STEP OUT, ARE YOUARMED RIGHT NOW?>> UM, BACKSEAT.>> OK.>> EVERY DAY, POLICE OFFICERSENFORCE THE DRUNK DRIVING LAWS, BUT IN RECENT MONTHS SEVERALOF THOSE ARRESTS HAVE BEEN OFPOLICE OFFICERS THEMSELVES.>> PUT YOUR HANDS AT YOUR SIDE.>> I'M NOT GOING TO DO THAT.>> YOU DON'T WANT TO DO IT.YOU REFUSE?>> NO, I'M NOT REFUSING.I'M NOT DOING IT >> ON NEW YEAR'S DAY, MILWAUKEEOFFICER MICHAEL BODEN WAS BUSTEDFOR DRIVING DRUNK WITH HIS GUNIN THE CAR A WEEK LATER, IT WASOFFICER ANTHONY RIVERA.>> >YOU HAVE A LOT OF DAMAGE TOTHE FRONT OF YOUR CAR.>> I TOLD YOU I GOT A FLAT TIRE,I SWERVED ON THE ROAD ANDSTOPPED HERE.>> POLICE SAY RIVERA CRASHED HISTRUCK INTO THE GUARDRAIL ONI-43.TWO WEEKS AGO, WAUWATOSA CITEDOFFICER DEREK ERTL FOR DRIVINGDRUNK WITH AN EXPIREDREGISTRATION, AND THE MORNINGAFTER, THE PACKERS-GIANTSPLAYOFF GAME DURING TRAININGHERE AT THE ACADEMY ANOTHEROFFICER BLEW INTO A BREATHALYZERAND REGISTERED A .04.A POLICE SOURCE TELLS 12 NEWS,THAT SUGGESTS THE OFFICER WASLEGALLY DRUNK WHEN HE WORKED THEPRECEDING NIGHT SHIFT DRIVING ASQUAD CAR AND CARRYING A GUN.THAT OFFICER IS NOW UNDERINVESTIGATION.MILWAUKEE POLICE REFUSEDREQUESTS TO DISCUSS THE ISSUE,SO 12 NEWS ENLISTED THE HELP OFTWO LAW ENFORCEMENT EXPERTS,BOTH FORMER COPS.RICK COLE, AN ATTORNEY CURRENTLYTEACHING POLICE SCIENCE AT MATC,AND CRIMINOLOGIST PHILIPSTINSON IS A PROFESSOR ATBOWLING GREEN STATE.>> POLICE OFFICERS DON'T LIKE TOARREST OTHER POLICE OFFICERS,AND THAT IS ESPECIALLY TRUE WITHDRUNK DRIVING.>> STINSON IS A FORMER COP WHOSTUDIES CRIMES COMMITTED BYPOLICE OFFICERS, LARGELY BECAUSENEITHER STATE NOR FEDERALHE SAYS OF ALL OFFICER ARRESTSNATIONWIDE, 15% ARE FOR DRUNKDRIVING, BUT IN WISCONSIN, 25%OF OFFICER ARRESTS ARE FOR DRUNKDRIVING.>> EITHER THEY'RE CATCHING THEMMORE OFTEN, OR THEY DRINK ANDDRIVE MORE OFTEN.I DON'T KNOW WHICH.>> STINSON'S RESEARCH SUGGESTSCOPS GENERALLY FACE ARREST FORDUI WHEN THERE IS AN AGGRAVATINGFACTOR THE ARRESTING OFFICERCAN'T IGNORE.>> THEY DRIVE INTO FIREHYDRANTS.THEY FLIP THEIR CARS OVER INDITCHES.THINGS THAT YOU CAN'T EXPLAINWITHOUT WRITING A REPORT ORCALLING A SUPERVISOR OR A TOWTRUCK.>> ARE YOU SUGGESTING THAT COPSDRIVE DRUNK FAR MORE OFTEN THANWE KNOW?>> ABSOLUTELY.>> BUT STINSON SAYS THE CULTUREIS CHANGING.DRUNK DRIVING IS NOT ASTOLERATED AS IT WAS IN THE PAST.PENALTIES ARE STIFFER.>> I THINK THE YOUNGER POLICEOFFICERS ARE NOT AS TOLERANT OFPOLICE OFFICERS DRINKING ANDDRIVING.>> HE NOW TRAINS POLICE RECRUITSAT MATC HE SAYS POLICE WORK HASALWAYS BEEN STRESSFUL AND THESEDAYS THE CURRICULUM INCLUDESWELLNESS COURSEWORK THATADDRESSES STRESS MANAGEMENT, ANDSUBSTANCE AND ALCOHOL ABUSE.>> YOU WOULD THINK PEOPLE SHOULDKNOW BETTER, BUT ISN'T THAT THECORE ISSUE WHEN SOMEBODY USESALCOHOL?SOMETIMES YOUR BEST JUDGMENTGETS PUSHED ASIDE AND YOU MAKE APOOR CHOICE.>> YOU GOING TO RUIN MY DAY?>> YEAH.>> NONE OF THE OFFICERS WEREPORTED ON HERE HAS HAD A PRIORDUI.MPD SAYS IT IS CURRENTLYCONDUCTING INTERNALINVESTIGATIONS ON ALL FOUR OFTHE OFFICERS.>> AND MPD HAS BEEN MUM ON THESCOPE OF THIS PROBLEM I KNOW YOUASKED HOW MANY OTHER OFFICERSMAY HAVE BEEN ARRESTED FOR DUI,?>> RIGHT, AND WE HAVEN'TRECEIVED AND ANSWER.WE ALSO WANTED TO KNOW IF THEDEPARTMENT EVEN TRACKS SUCHARRESTS WE ASKED IF OFFICERS AREOBLIGATED TO NOTIFY THEDEPARTMENT IF THEY GET A DUI,AND WE ASKED FOR A COPY OF THEDEPARTMENT POLICY DRUNK DRIVING.

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At least four Milwaukee police officers have been accused of drunken driving since the beginning of the year. On New Year's Day, Milwaukee Officer Michael Boden was busted for driving drunk with his gun in the car. A week later, Officer Anthony Rivera was arrested for DUI. Police said Rivera crashed his truck into a guardrail on Interstate 43. Two weeks ago, Wauwatosa cited Milwaukee Officer Derek Ertl for driving drunk with an expired registration. And the morning after the Packers-Giants playoff game, during training at Milwaukee's police training academy, another officer blew into a Breathalyzer and registered a 0.04. A police source told WISN 12 News that suggests the officer was legally drunk when he worked the preceding night shift, driving a squad car and carrying a gun. That officer is now under investigation. Milwaukee police refused requests to discuss the issue, so WISN 12 News enlisted the help of two law enforcement experts, both former officers. Rick Cole is an attorney currently teaching police science at MATC, and criminologist Philip Stinson is a professor at Bowling Green State University. "Police officers don't like to arrest other police officers, and that's especially true for drunk driving," Stinson said. Stinson is a former officer who studies crimes committed by police officers, largely because neither state nor federal governments track it. He said of all officer arrests nationwide, 15 percent are for drunken driving. But in Wisconsin, 25 percent of officer arrests are for drunken driving. "Either they're catching them more often, or they drink and drive more often, I don't know," he said. Stinson's research suggests officers generally face arrest for DUI when there is an aggravating factor the arresting officer can't ignore. "They drive into fire hydrants, they flip their cars over in ditches, things that you can't explain without writing a report or calling a supervisor or a tow truck," he said. "Are you suggesting that cops drive drunk far more often than we know?" WISN 12 News investigative reporter Colleen Henry asked Stinson. "Absolutely, absolutely," Stinson said. But Stinson said the culture is changing. Drunken driving is not as tolerated as it was in the past, and penalties are stiffer. "I think the younger police officers are not as tolerant of police officers drinking and driving," he said. Rick Cole spent eight years as a Kenosha deputy and now trains police recruits at MATC. "Police officers are human," he said. Cole said police work has always been stressful, and these days, the curriculum includes wellness coursework that addresses stress management and substance and alcohol abuse. "You would think people should know better, but isn't that the core issue when somebody uses alcohol? Sometimes your best judgment gets pushed aside and you make a poor choice," he said. None of the officers involved has had a prior DUI. MPD said it is currently conducting internal investigations on all four of the officers, though it did not respond when asked how many other officers may have been arrested for DUI, or if the department even tracks such arrests. Nor did it provide a copy of the department's policy on drunk driving.