CMPD officer charged with driving while impaired in the mountains this weekend

A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer was charged with driving while impaired early Saturday morning in the North Carolina mountains, according to a CMPD news release.

Officer Tyler Kishpaugh, 44, was arrested by the North Carolina State Highway Patrol in Avery County, near Banner Elk, police said.

He was driving a Mazda SUV when the highway patrol pulled him over on N.C. 184 just before 1 a.m. Saturday, highway patrol 1st Sgt. Michael Baker said Monday.

Kishpaugh was driving left of center on the highway, Baker said, and one of his headlights wasn't working. Then the highway patrol officer noticed he seemed to be impaired "due to alcohol consumption," Baker said.

He was arrested after a field sobriety test that did not include breath testing.

He refused to take a breath test at the Banner Elk Police Department, Baker said, so officers sought and obtained a search warrant to test his blood.

Refusing a breath test in North Carolina means your license will be suspended for a year, though you can go to a hearing and try to challenge that, Baker said.

Kishpaugh was off duty and driving a personal vehicle at the time of his arrest, police said. He has been placed on unpaid administrative leave.

In a statement, CMPD Chief Kerr Putney said he was disappointed Kishpaugh has fallen short of the department's standards.

"I expect the men and women of this department will be held accountable when they violate the law, no matter where it occurs," Putney said.

Kishpaugh was hired by the CMPD in 2001 and was assigned to the Steele Creek Division, police said.

The CMPD is conducting an internal investigation, and the highway patrol is handling the criminal investigation, police said.

This story was originally published June 18, 2018 at 11:41 AM with the headline "CMPD officer charged with driving while impaired in the mountains this weekend."