DUI Arrest Champ Faces Same Charge

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 2:59 AM
By Greg SowinskiThe Lima News LIMA, Ohio --

An Ohio State Highway patrolman once honored as a post trooper of the year and for the number of drunken-driving arrests he made was arrested Sunday on a charge of drunken driving. Gerald L. Gibson, 45, was charged with drunken driving and a lane violation, Auglaize County Municipal Court records show. Gibson's arraignment is scheduled for Thursday in Wapakoneta.Gibson, whose most recent assignment has been as an investigator at Allen Correctional Institution in Lima, has taken a leave of absence because of his arrest, said Sgt. Richard Reeder, a spokesman for the State Highway Patrol.Waynesfield police made the arrest, Reeder said.Waynesfield Police Chief Nathan Motter said he stopped Gibson at 12:24 a.m. Sunday on Rt. 196. Gibson's vehicle had drifted left of center at least twice, he said.Motter noticed several signs of alcohol and asked Gibson to take a breath test, which he refused, Motter said."There were multiple reasons that led me to believe he was intoxicated," he said.Motter said Gibson was off duty at the time and in a personal vehicle.Gibson was named the 2002 trooper of the year at the patrol's Lima post. He was chosen based on leadership, professional ethics and enthusiastic work attitude. Mothers Against Drunk Driving honored Gibson in 1997 for the most drunken-driving arrests by a Lima post trooper.Gibson joined the patrol in May 1990.