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NEWBURYPORT — A veteran Beverly police officer has been placed on administrative leave following his arrest Sunday in West Newbury for drunken driving while carrying a loaded handgun.

Patrolman Kevin Weafer, 52, of Beverly, was charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol (second offense), being an intoxicated licensee carrying a firearm and having an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle.

At his arraignment Tuesday in Newburyport District Court, Weafer was ordered held on $1,000 cash bail, which he posted after his arrest, pending his next appearance in court Oct. 5 for a pretrial hearing. Judge Peter Doyle also ordered Weafer be placed on pretrial probation and to remain drug and alcohol free with random screens.

Beverly police Chief John G. LeLacheur said Tuesday that immediately after learning of Weafer’s arrest, he placed him on paid administrative leave pending the completion of an internal investigation. According to LeLacheur, Weafer has been with the Beverly Police Department for 25 years.

According to West Newbury police Officer Danielle Burrill’s report, she received word from dispatch that a man who appeared to be intoxicated came into the police station lobby around 11 p.m. on Sunday to report his dog was lost. The man then abruptly left the station.

Burrill tracked down the man’s vehicle to Pipestave Hill Park, where she spotted it in the parking lot with its engine running. Burrill quickly recognized the man as Weafer, a former West Newbury resident.

As she approached Weafer, Burrill quickly noticed a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. She asked if the vehicle belonged to him and whether he had been driving it. Weafer said “yes” to both questions and stated he was “just trying to find his dog and mentioned that he was on the job in Beverly.”

Burrill ordered him to move away from his vehicle, which prompted Weafer to become agitated, angry and distraught that she and her partner — Officer Patrick Clay — were questioning him. The report says they ordered Weafer to move to the front of Burrill’s cruiser, which he did but only after being asked several times, swaying from side to side.

When asked, Weafter said he had consumed three beers then started pleading with them. “‘Please don’t do this to me, I swear to God,’” he said, according to Burrill’s report.

She then asked if Weafer was carrying a firearm,. He said he had one along his right hip. When Burrill ordered Weafer not to reach for it and to place his hands over his head, his hands began flailing near where his weapon was located.

“At this time I drew my service weapon at Mr. Weafer, ordering him now more than five times to keep his hands on his head and to get on his knees,” Burrill wrote.

Weafer finally complied and allowed Clay to remove the firearm, later identified as a Glock 22 .40 caliber duty pistol with a hollow point bullet in the chamber and 14 rounds in the magazine. Clay then handcuffed Weafer.

“I feared for both mine and Officer Clay’s life. Mr. Weafer failed to mention to us both that he was armed with a loaded gun. Mr. Weafer failed to comply with my simple instructions and I felt that at any time Mr. Weafer could have reached for his weapon,” Burrill wrote in her report.

Due to less than ideal conditions at the park and his unstable demeanor, Weafer was transported to the West Newbury police station for a field sobriety test. An inventory search of Weafer’s vehicle resulted in the discovery of a box of .40 caliber ammunition and a half-full bottle of vodka.

At the station, Burrill contacted Beverly police to alert them of Weafer’s arrest. She then asked him what he was doing at the park, located off Route 113 in the area of 691 Main St., to which he replied that he was feeling nostalgic, having once lived in West Newbury. Weafer refused to take a blood alcohol level test at the station, immediately triggering a suspension of his driver’s license.

Weafer was last convicted of drunken driving in 1988.