DENVER — A deputy chief with the Denver Fire Department (DFD) resigned from his post after he was arrested over the weekend for suspected DUI while driving his take-home department SUV in Arvada.
Around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, officers with the Arvada Police Department (APD) made contact with Jeremy Vigil after a possible domestic violence incident was reported.
A man reported that his neighbor came to his house saying that a guest was at her house and refusing to leave, a report from APD says. During the call, the neighbor related that the man was backing out of the driveway and was in a white Ford Explorer.
Shortly after that, an officer driving west on 80th Avenue spotted a vehicle matching that description going in the opposite direction near Harlan Street at a "high rate of speed," the report says. Since the officer was near the reported domestic dispute, he believed the SUV's driver was likely the person involved in the dispute.
The officer made a U-turn and tried to catch up to the SUV but couldn't, the report says. The officer noted he was traveling about 75 mph in an area with a speed limit of 45 mph.
A short time later, the Explorer stopped at a red light, which allowed the officer to catch up. He eventually pulled the SUV over in the 8300-block of Sheridan Boulevard. The driver pulled over into a parking lot, where he parked straddling two spots, the report says.
The officer approached the driver and noticed a DFD sticker on the rear window and a light bar on the back of the vehicle, according to the report.
The driver, identified as Vigil, rolled down the window and the officer immediately noticed an "overwhelmingly strong" odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle. The officer also noticed Vigil had droopy eyelids, bloodshot eyes and slurred speech, the report says.
During a conversation with the officer, Vigil admitted he was a deputy chief with DFD and was driving a take-home DFD vehicle. When asked if he was involved in an incident earlier in the night, he said he had gotten into a fight with his girlfriend, the report says.
When asked if he had had anything to drink, Vigil responded that he had a "couple of beers." He denied feeling impaired and said he felt he could function normally. Vigil had "extreme difficulty pronouncing his words as he said that," according to the report.
He was arrested and booked for suspicion of DUI. The officer said he could not substantiate criminal charges in relation to the domestic disturbance due to lack of cooperation from Vigil and his girlfriend.
According to the report, an officer drove Vigil's SUV to the police station because they didn't want to leave it in the parking lot which was known for "frequent criminal activity," the report says.
A DFD coworker later came to the police station to take possession of the DFD vehicle. Vigil was also released into that person's custody.
Vigil remains with the DFD in a civil service role since resigning his deputy chief post, according to a department spokesperson.
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