Detroit detective arrested in Auburn Hills for driving drunk with pistols in car

A Detroit police detective is the subject of an internal investigation after he was arrested in Auburn Hills last week on suspicion of drunken driving while in possession of two pistols.

Noe Garcia, a detective in the 3rd Precinct, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.14 percent, nearly twice Michigan's legal limit of 0.08 — and seven times the limit of 0.02 percent allowed while carrying a firearm — when he was stopped on Interstate 75 on April 30, according to an Auburn Hills police report.

Detroit police Sgt. Nicole Kirkwood said: "We are aware of this situation and have initiated an internal investigation."

Auburn Hills police officer Carley Buechner pulled Garcia over after she spotted his 2018 Chevy Malibu "swerving all over the roadway," on northbound I-75 near Lapeer Road, Buechner wrote in her report. "The vehicle swerved into the #4 lane of travel and almost struck another vehicle. I initiated a traffic stop.

"I asked Garcia how much he had to drink before driving and he stated 'not much,'" Buechner wrote. "I asked him to clarify how much was 'not much' and he repeated again that it was 'not much.'"

Garcia told Buechner he was headed home from work. Buechner asked him to step out of the vehicle and submit to field sobriety testing. Garcia complied.

"Garcia could not keep his balance," Buechner wrote. She then gave Garcia a breathalyzer test. 

Garcia was placed under arrest. His car was impounded and two pistols, magazines and a gun case were confiscated. In the police report obtained by The Detroit News, the guns' make and model were redacted.

Garcia was detained in the police station overnight and released the next morning. He was arraigned Thursday in 52-3 District Court on charges of operating while intoxicated and possession of a firearm while under the influence, according to the court's website.

If convicted on the misdemeanor charges, Garcia faces 93 days in jail, a $100 fine and a revocation of his concealed pistol license, in addition to any internal discipline that may be meted out by Detroit police officials.

Garcia was among a group of officers who earned commendation medals in 2013 for their work patrolling the Rosa Parks Transit Center, which was a crime hot spot.

ghunter@detroitnews.com
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Twitter: @GeorgeHunter_DN