Sheriff’s deputy arrested after DUI in Bibb Co.

MACON, Ga. — A Houston County Sheriff’s Office deputy was arrested Jan. 19, after a traffic stop, when she was found to be driving under the influence. Emily Beck, 31, formerly an officer of the department’s patrol division, has been released, and reportedly will see repercussions at work.

According to a report provided by the Georgia State Patrol, the arrest was made when Beck was stopped for “failure to obey traffic-control devices.” Officer Joe Davis provided a narrative in the report.

“I was patrolling the area of Poplar Street and New Street,” Davis said. “I observed a vehicle fail to obey the traffic control device present at this intersection by not stopping at a flashing red light.

“I maneuvered my patrol car behind the vehicle as it continued on to Washington Avenue. At the intersection of Washington Avenue and College Street, the vehicle stopped at a solid red light with its rear tires past the painted bar. The vehicle then traveled through the solid red light.”

Davis reportedly followed after the vehicle, and made the traffic stoop shortly following. Upon making contact with Beck, the officer made note of a “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage along with the driver having bloodshot and watery eyes.”

“I asked the driver how much alcohol she had drank that night,” Davis wrote. “She replied, ‘a couple of beers.’”

After stepping out of the vehicle, Beck told Davis that it had been a couple of hours since her last drink, and when asked to rate her drunkenness on a scale of zero to ten, Beck responded, “one or two.”

Beck complied with a number of evaluations, and then a voluntary breath sample. The breath sample yielded a positive result of .144.

Beck was placed under arrest and transported to Bibb County Jail. Searching her vehicle, Davis located a half-empty Miller Lite bottle in the rear pocket of the passenger seat.

The Journal reached out to Capt. Clay Chambers, Beck’s former commanding officer, for the sheriff’s office’s response.

According to Chambers, Beck will remain with the sheriff’s office, but she has been demoted from her position as a deputy with the patrol division, and will now work at the Houston County Detention Center.

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