Vic Ryckaert

IndyStar

Update: Brownsburg Fire Chief William Brown submitted his letter of resignation at the monthly Brownsburg Fire Territory Meeting Thursday, which was approved by the board, said Brownsburg Fire Department spokeswoman Stephanie Winegar.

The letter, Winegar said, stated Brown's resignation was effective immediately. Assistant Fire Chief Keith Rinehart will be acting fire chief until the Executive Board fills the position.

Earlier:

Brownsburg Fire Chief William Brown stumbled, slurred and urinated on himself after crashing his department-owned vehicle in Indianapolis Sunday, according to court records filed Thursday.

Brown, 58, had a scheduled appearance in Marion Superior Court Thursday on drunken driving related charges stemming from the crash near College and Massachusetts avenues. His attorney, Fred Vaiana, waived Brown's right to an initial hearing, records show.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Brown crashed a 2014 Ford SUV through a concrete barrier and into construction equipment near the Indianapolis Professional Firefighters Local 416 Union Hall at 748 Massachusetts Ave. at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday.

Officers arrived to find the vehicle's back end resting on the tracks of an excavator. Brown was in the driver's seat attempting to crank the ignition, according to the records.

Officer Malcolm Smith removed the keys and asked Brown what happened.

"Mr. Brown could not answer the question with any coherent speech," Officer Nicholas Wroblewski wrote in an arrest report.

Several times during the incident, Brown told officers: "I'm a firefighter." Wroblewski described Smith's words as "severely slurred and nearly unintelligible."

After several tries, Brown exited the vehicle and had to be held on his feet by two officers.

Then he asked for permission to urinate.

Wroblewski directed Brown behind the excavator in an area blocked from public view and watched as Brown "proceeded to urinate in his pants without making any effort to accomplish this task the proper way."

The manager of nearby 45 Degrees nightclub approached the scene and told officers Brown had been drinking vodka-and-cranberry cocktails.

"He was pretty hammered when he came in here," club manager William Pritt told police, "but he ordered food and we served him a few drinks."

Brown was taken to Eskenazi Hospital where his blood was drawn. Prosecutors say Brown's blood test found .259 percent alcohol, more than three times Indiana's legal driving limit of .08.

The Brownsburg Fire Territory placed Brown on administrative leave without pay and appointed Assistant Fire Chief Keith Rinehart as acting chief, said Stephanie Winegar, battalion chief of public education.

Brownsburg appointed Brown as chief on July 1, 2012. He was previously employed by the Indianapolis Fire Department

Call IndyStar reporter Vic Ryckaert at (317) 444-2701. Follow him on Twitter: @vicryc.