May 01--FALMOUTH -- The town's senior animal control officer faces a drunken-driving charge after allegedly responding to a call while under the influence.
Town officials put longtime employee Thomas A. Garland, 61, on five days of unpaid administrative leave Thursday after his arraignment in Falmouth District Court, Falmouth Town Manager Julian Suso said.
At about 8:50 p.m. April 24, Garland arrived at a Maravista Avenue house where police were responding to a report of a dog bite, according to a police report filed in district court.
Upon arriving, Garland parked the car he was driving -- a personal vehicle -- on the house's side lawn, rather than on an adjacent street where a Falmouth patrolman had directed him to park, the report said.
When Garland spoke with the mother of an alleged victim of a dog bite, Falmouth police Sgt. Sean Doyle caught a whiff of alcohol, the report said. He also noticed Garland briefly lose his balance while he spoke with the woman.
After leaving the house, Doyle asked Garland if he had drunk any alcohol that night, to which the animal control officer responded that he consumed one drink before he was called to Maravista Avenue, the police report said.
Garland failed multiple sobriety tests that Lt. Douglas DeCosta administered just after a portable Breathalyzer test recorded his blood alcohol level as 0.11 percent, well above the legal limit of 0.08 percent, court documents said. A second Breathalyzer test Garland took later placed his blood alcohol level at 0.09 percent.
Police arrested Garland on one charge of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.
Garland was released on his own recognizance and pleaded not guilty to the charge in Falmouth District Court on Wednesday. He is due back in court May 24 for a pretrial hearing.
Garland is also subject to a disciplinary review and hearing, Suso said. The town manager declined to answer questions about Garland's disciplinary record or comment on the allegation against him.
"Because that is ... still under review and investigation, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on that," Suso said.
Copyright 2012 - Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.
