Waterloo police officer charged with OWI after crash

A Waterloo police officer has been arrested following a weekend crash while off duty.

Sheriff's deputies arrested Jessica K. Brownell, 33, Sunday for first-offense operating while intoxicated, and she was cited for failure to maintain control.

Maj. Joe Leibold with the Waterloo Police Department said his department is aware of the incident, but he couldn't comment further because it is a personnel matter. Brownell, a patrol officer, was on duty on Wednesday, according to police records.

The collision happened at about 2:20 a.m. Sunday at the 'S” curve in the 800 block of Rainbow Drive. Sheriff's deputies allege Brownell was driving her Ford Edge too fast and slid off the road and into a MidAmerican Energy utility pole. She suffered a bloody nose from the air bag, according to the accident report.

Waterloo police were sent to the crash, and they turned the matter over to the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office, which is standard protocol.

A field sobriety test found signs of intoxication, and a breath test resulted in a blood-alcohol level of .157, according to court records.