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U.S.|In New York, Some Police Officers Can Drink, Drive and Avoid Charges
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/us/new-york-state-police-drunk-driving.html
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Officers in New York State crashed their official vehicles, hit other motorists and arrived to work reeking of alcohol. And yet, they sometimes evaded criminal punishment, an investigation found.
Sept. 9, 2025Updated 6:11 a.m. ET
An Orchard Park police officer found the man in the shoulder of a six-lane road, standing near his crumpled black BMW, arguing with his girlfriend.
It was 11 p.m. on a Saturday in 2021, in the suburbs of Buffalo. The BMW had slammed into a Jeep, smashing its left taillight. White high heels were toppled on their sides on the pavement, outside the BMW’s passenger door.
The man’s speech was slurred and his gait was unsteady, the officer, Andrew J. Kowalski, would later note in a report. His eyes were glassy, and he smelled strongly of alcohol.
The officer asked who had been driving. The couple looked at each other.
“We’re State Police,” the woman said. Her boyfriend, Ronald W. Wilson, was an off-duty investigator and had the identification to prove it.
Officer Kowalski did not give Mr. Wilson a sobriety test. One of his supervisors called the State Police, per procedure, and a sergeant with the agency drove the couple home.
Days later, Mr. Wilson admitted in an affidavit that he had been behind the wheel. But he was not charged with driving while intoxicated — he received a traffic ticket for following behind another car too closely, court records show. When the State Police investigated him months later for violating department policy, he admitted to drinking six cocktails and a shot that night, according to disciplinary records. He was suspended without pay for 35 days. Mr. Wilson, 49, is still with the State Police.
