Off-duty Johnson County sheriff’s deputy charged with OWI

An off-duty Johnson County sheriff’s deputy was arrested Saturday on a charge of operating while under the influence after another deputy pulled him over, according to a news release from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.

The working deputy initiated the traffic stop, at 10:53 p.m. Saturday, because of a stop sign violation at the intersection of Forevergreen Road and Jasper Avenue in Tiffin, according to a criminal complaint. The working deputy, who is not identified in the release or a criminal complaint, recognized the driver of the car as Deputy Cody O’Hare, and noticed O’Hare had a strong smell of alcohol, slurred speech, and bloodshot eyes, according to a criminal complaint.

The on-duty deputy called the Iowa State Patrol to investigate, and O’Hare told an Iowa State Trooper who came to the scene that he had not been drinking. He declined field sobriety tests and a preliminary breath test, but the trooper also noted he smelled of alcohol.

O’Hare was arrested and charged, and then consented to a breath test, which came back at 0.14 BAC. He has an initial court appearance scheduled for Aug. 26 at 8 a.m.

O’Hare has been a deputy with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office for 10 years and is currently on administrative leave, according to the news release. He is one of two deputies assigned to the full-time day shift in the department’s Tiffin division, who have spent the last year essentially building a police department in the city, through an agreement between the sheriff’s office and the city.

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