Monroe police officer resigns after DWI charge

A Monroe police officer has resigned after being charged last week with misdemeanor driving while impaired.

Darren Lee Nash, 34, had been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. Nash resigned Monday, city spokesman Pete Hovanec said Wednesday. He had been a Monroe police officer since Nov. 17, 2008.

The investigation into the DWI continues “just as if any other resident was charged with DWI,” Hovanec said. “But any internal investigation with regards to his employment is no longer active since he is no longer an employee.”

About 6:50 p.m. Thursday, police were dispatched to 2200 W. Roosevelt Blvd. in reference to a possible medical call for a person in a vehicle. Police saw Nash behind the wheel and determined he was impaired. The vehicle was not a police car, Hovanec said.

Nash was taken to the Union County Jail, where he refused to submit to an Intoxilyzer test, Hovanec said. Nash was then charged. He was released under a written promise to appear in court May 11.

Nash is the son of former City Council member Dottie Nash.

In 2013, he was among nine police officers suspended without pay for a week over their handling of cases that led the district attorney to dismiss charges against 39 people.

The officers failed to provide files that the Union County district attorney’s office needed to prosecute cases, the city said. Sometimes, they also did not submit drugs to a lab for analysis, which also hampered prosecution.

Joe Marusak

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 9:32 AM with the headline "Monroe police officer resigns after DWI charge."