The soon-to-be interim chief of the Aurora Police Department was the first cop to arrive at the scene when an on-duty, armed officer passed out drunk while driving his police vehicle in March — that officer kept his job and avoided criminal charges.

Deputy Chief Paul O’Keefe, who will become interim chief at the end of the year when current police Chief Nick Metz retires, was on his way home from work around 3:45 p.m. March 29 when he heard the call go out for an unresponsive driver stopped in traffic who was wearing a police jacket, according to police reports obtained Thursday by the Denver Post.

O’Keefe did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday.

Two people called 911 after spotting Officer Nathan Meier — who later admitted he’d gone home during his shift to drink vodka — slumped over his steering wheel in the middle of East Mississippi Avenue near Buckley Air Force Base.

Meier, who then held the rank of agent, was drifting in and out of consciousness, appeared disoriented and smelled of alcohol, officers who responded to the scene wrote in the reports. He was locked in his car and could not open the door.

“As I was banging on the windows, I could see Agt. Meier trying to focus on the noise, but was unsuccessful,” O’Keefe wrote in a report filed April 1. “His eyes were open slightly and his head rolled around as if he was trying to find some cause of the disturbance. He did not appear to be aware of his surroundings.”

O’Keefe noted in his report that he was able to reach Meier after firefighters broke the car’s window. He reached to take the officer’s gun away and smelled an unknown alcoholic beverage. He described the odor as “fleeting.”

O’Keefe initially called for a traffic officer to come to the hospital where Meier was taken to investigate the event as a potential DUI, but later decided not to proceed because he believed the episode to be medical, according to the report.

“Also, my observations of Agt. Meier led me to question if this was in fact alcohol intoxication or some other medical episode, as his physical demeanor was not what I thought was consistent with alcohol intoxication; it appeared more medical in nature,” he said.

Police decided not to test for alcohol consumption and did not seek a blood draw from Meier.

“Based on the lack of information, my own observations, the fact that the car was stopped (ignition on) with no motor vehicle accident or driving observations, and the lack of any additional evidence (no other noted smells, no bloodshot watery eyes, physical impairment inconsistent with my experience with DUI), it was decided that no testing would be completed at that time,” O’Keefe wrote in the report.

During a subsequent internal affairs investigation, Meier admitted he’d been drinking vodka during his shift and said he blacked out and had no memory of what happened until he woke in the hospital. He was demoted from the rank of agent to officer, given an unpaid suspension and allowed to remain on the force.

The 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday it was not alerted to the incident at the time but is now checking into the situation to determine if any criminal charges are warranted.

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman declined an interview but said Thursday in a statement that he will review Aurora’s “policies, procedures and oversight related to allegations of officer misconduct to make sure they are all appropriate.”

The incident involving Meier and the department’s discipline of him comes as Aurora City Council and community activists are discussing more police oversight. The calls for more oversight come on the heels of a series of high-profile use of force incidents where people have been killed or injured by Aurora police officers.