SUNSET HILLS, Mo. — Sunset Hills Police Chief Stephen Dodge was not intoxicated and did not refuse to take a breathalyzer even though a Missouri Highway Patrol trooper arrested him on suspicion of boating while intoxicated, according to Dodge's attorney.
A Missouri Highway Patrol trooper arrested Dodge on June 17 after stopping him for not having proper navigational lights on his boat at the Lake of the Ozarks, according to Dodge’s attorney, Travis Noble.
“I am saying absolutely, unequivocally, he was not intoxicated and witnesses will testify that he was not intoxicated,” Noble said.
Court records show Dodge was cited by the Department of Revenue for refusing a breathalyzer test, but Camden County Judge Michael Joseph Gilley dismissed the case without prejudice on July 1.
“We don't believe that the tests were offered to him, and they certainly weren't offered to him in the manner which complies with the Missouri Department of Health Regulation with regard to the breath or blood tests,” Noble said.
The Missouri Highway Patrol investigation into possible criminal charges is still pending and has not yet been sent to the Camden County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, according to Cpl. Kyle Green.
“I think that the highway patrol is down on the Lake of the Ozarks and they are pulling people over there, trying to generate numbers and the chief got caught up in it, and he was arrested for boating while intoxicated when he wasn't intoxicated,” Noble said.
Sunset Hills Mayor Paricia Fribis sent a statement to 5 On Your Side, which read: "I am aware of the incident, but I will not comment on a personnel issue."
Dodge became police chief in Sunset Hills in February 2017.
Noble said he is not aware of any discipline his client is facing from the city.