ST. PAUL - A Minnesota State Trooper from northeastern Minnesota is on administrative leave after he was arrested and charged with DWI.
The State Patrol says Nick Morse of Two Harbors was arrested when he reported for an in-service training at the Minnesota State Patrol district office in Duluth on Wednesday morning.
Morse had driven his squad car from his home in Two Harbors to arrive at the training at 8:10 a.m. When he arrived at the district office a supervisor detected the odor of alcohol coming from Morse.
Field sobriety tests were administered immediately and Morse was arrested by a State Patrol lieutenant. He was transported to the St. Louis County Jail where Morse submitted to a breath test. The Patrol says the result was an alcohol concentration of .08, the legal limit in Minnesota.
"State troopers are dedicated to taking impaired drivers off the road, which makes this incident even more egregious and unacceptable," said Col. Kevin Daly, chief of the State Patrol. "We don't tolerate impaired driving, regardless of who is behind the wheel."
Morse was booked into the St. Louis County Jail and issued a citation for 4th Degree DUI. He has been a state trooper since April of 2009, with no disciplinary actions or commendations as a trooper.
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