A captain with the Cincinnati Police Department was pulled over and charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated in Loveland Sunday, according to police in the Cincinnati suburb.
Cincinnati Police Capt. Amanda Caton was driving with her husband, CPD Lt. Patrick Caton when the two were spotted by Loveland Police drifting across traffic lanes shortly before 2:30 a.m. Sunday night. An officer pulled Caton's car over and detected the odor of alcohol, according to a police report.
Caton was driving her personal car at the time of the incident, according to an email from Cincinnati City Manager Patrick Duhaney to Cincinnati City Council.
The arrest report details several specific alleged moments during the incident, including Capt. Caton asking, "does it help that I'm a police officer" in a slurred voice and Lt. Caton growing increasingly belligerent and confrontational as the stop continued. Capt. Caton allegedly pulled a loaded firearm from her purse to give to a Loveland officer, according to the report, and later swayed during a field sobriety test. After she was taken to the police station and cited for driving under the influence, Loveland officers took her back to her home, where Lt. Caton was arriving and allegedly told the officers to "be sure to tell your moms that you met real cops tonight."
Caton pleaded not guilty to the OVI charge Feb. 14. According to a statement released by CPD, Capt. Caton's police powers have been suspended pending an investigation into the incident.
“This incident involves a pending criminal matter, so we cannot release additional information at his time,” that release states.
Capt. Caton joined CPD in 2004. She was promoted to captain last June.
Lt. Caton was involved in the 2000 death of Roger Owensby, Jr., an unarmed 29-year-old Marine veteran, during an attempted arrest. Lt. Caton was acquitted of wrongdoing in Owensby's death, but was later fired by CPD after an internal investigation. Arbitration eventually won him back his job as well as $200,000 in back pay.
Caton and another officer tackled, choked and punched Owensby while handcuffed. He subsequently died in the back of the police cruiser. In later interviews and testimony, Caton admitted to punching Owensby both on the ground and in the cruiser, saying he did so with the palm of his hand so he wouldn't break his fingers and because it caused more pain. Caton’s personnel file, obtained through an earlier public records request, features a number of glowing reviews from superiors. But he has also had other disciplinary incidents, including a reprimand for using racial slurs while on duty, for which he was briefly suspended.
