Johnson County communications center chief faces drunk driving charge

The executive director of the Johnson County Communications Center was arrested after police said he was driving drunk.

Michael Sullivan, 52, was reported by a witness driving in an erratic manner, and hit a mailbox in the 300 block of Holiday Road in  Coralville, according to police complaints.

When officers made contact with Sullivan at his home, at 160 E. Dovetail Dr., at 7:42 p.m. Thursday, police said Sullivan said he had been drinking too much and had just arrived home. Police said Sullivan told them he had nothing to drink since he got home and that he did not realize he had hit a mailbox.

Police said Sullivan failed field sobriety tests and initially blew a .256 on the scene during a preliminary breath test. Subsequent tests showed he had a blood alcohol content of .234.

Sullivan was charged with operating while intoxicated and was taken to the Johnson County Jail, where he was released to another person Thursday night.

Emergency Communication Center Policy Board chairman Mike Wight, also an Iowa City Council member, said the board would meet “quite soon” regarding how to deal with the incident. He said could not speak on specifics, calling it a personnel matter.

Johnson County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek, board vice-chairman, said he didn't know what action the policy board would take, but said he was certainly “disappointed.”

“Clearly this is a distraction that none of us needed,” Pulkrabek said. “All humans can make mistakes, but that doesn't make it OK. It's very frustrating. The lack of good judgment is a serious problem.”

Pulkrabek also explained that releasing Sullivan from the Jail the same night before the initial court appearance is a fairly common practice for both serious and simple misdemeanors if the person is being compliant with officers, especially with jail overcrowding already being an issue.

Sullivan did not immediately return a phone message Friday morning.