Drunk State Trooper Capt. James Williams, Jr., Sent to Motel instead of Jail after Traffic Stop

N.C. Highway Patrol captain James Williams Jr., who was caught driving while extremely intoxicated, sent to motel instead of jail after traffic stop.

Capt. James Williams Jr.

James Williams Jr., a captain with the N.C. Highway Patrol, was caught driving while "extremely drunk" on April 3, at 1:50 a.m., after a traffic stop. Instead of being taken to jail, as most people would, he was taken to a hotel instead and no charges were filed against him. According to the News Observer, he was placed on desk duty last week, pending an internal affairs investigation at the Highway Patrol. The reality is that Butner Lt. D.C. Parrott's and his boss, Maj. A. W. Moss, should be suspended without pay for their reckless actions. Had that been an average person who was stopped, they would have been locked up for drunk driving. Talk about a code of silence and brotherhood in law enforcement!

Recordings of radio traffic and telephone calls released Friday include Butner Lt. D.C. Parrott's initial report of seeing a motorist in a Ford Mustang convertible traveling south on Interstate 85 and swerving from lane to lane. Butner Capt. W.B. Williams, the supervisor on duty, came to the scene and called headquarters to ask that a message be relayed to his own boss, Maj. A.W. Moss. "Advise him I have a trooper stopped," W.B. Williams says on a recording. "He is a captain with the Highway Patrol and he is extremely 10-55." The police code 10-55 means "intoxicated driver."

Moss was asleep at home. The dispatcher, caught on tape, tells Moss that James Williams was stopped. "You say he was extremely drunk?" Moss asks. The Butner officers called a tow truck for James Williams' Mustang and gave the trooper a ride to a Best Western. A few moments later, a hotel clerk called Butner Public Safety to report that the driver with "car trouble" changed his mind about getting a room and needed a ride to the station. Source: News-Observer

It would a stretch of the imagination to ask whether a breathalyzer test or a roadside sobriety test was administered on Williams, since the official documents about the incident reportedly omitted the trooper's name and stated that the traffic stop was resolved "without report." What is equally disturbing is the fact Williams is responsible for overseeing operations in a 12-county area that includes Wake, Durham and Granville counties, the News-Observer said. I hope Williams will not get a slap on the wrist for driving under the influence of alcohol and the officers involved in this cover-up should be terminated immediately.