Sergeant suspected of driving drunk

YAKIMA – A Yakima County sheriff’s sergeant was arrested for investigation of drunken driving while off-duty last month.

Sgt. Rob Engquist was scheduled to be arraigned in Yakima Municipal Court on Friday, but the hearing was postponed until May 30, allowing him to seek treatment.

Engquist was released on his own recognizance after his arrest on April 24 and has been on leave from the Sheriff’s Office while commanders consider his case.

Engquist was arrested after a Yakima police officer saw his speeding truck weave down a road, according to reports released by the Yakima city attorney’s office.

Breath tests conducted about an hour after the early morning traffic stop revealed his blood alcohol content was 0.2, more than twice the legal threshold of 0.08, police said.

In his report, the arresting officer said the driver he was following, later identified as Engquist, weaved across painted lines on both sides of the road, at one point nearly hitting an oncoming vehicle.

When the officer asked for a driver’s license, Engquist handed him an official sheriff’s identification card and pointed out they knew each other, according to the officer’s report.

The report does not indicate that Engquist directly sought special treatment.

Engquist’s attorney, Kip Kendrick, did not return a message the Yakima Herald-Republic left for him Friday, and an after-hours answering service said he was not available for comment on Saturday.

Engquist was placed on paid administrative leave for a few days after his arrest and has since requested medical leave, Sheriff Ken Irwin said, declining to elaborate because of privacy laws.

Engquist was suspended for 40 hours late last year after an internal investigation about various administrative complaints, including failure to handle several assigned calls and poor paperwork management, the Herald-Republic reported.