A Peachtree City police officer was arrested July 4 for boating under the influence at West Point Lake in LaGrange, The Citizen has confirmed.
Kenneth Dale Foster also was charged with child endangerment by boating while intoxicated and allowing a child under 10 to travel on a boat without a life jacket,
according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division.
Foster resigned on Friday, July 9 according to Police Chief H.C. “Skip” Clark. Foster had been with Peachtree City about a year, Clark said.
Foster’s ski boat was stopped shortly after 2:20 p.m. July 4 because of a wake zone violation, said DNR Cpl. Jim Bradfield, who was the arresting officer. It was determined that Foster had been drinking, and field sobriety tests were administered, Bradfield said.
At one point during the investigation, Foster mentioned that he was a Peachtree City police officer, but that had no bearing on whether or not he would be arrested, Bradfield said.
“I’m going to enforce the law impartially,” Bradfield said. “That didn’t really matter, especially on a zero tolerance alcohol violation. It had no bearing on my decision making.”
Foster was brought back to shore on the DNR patrol boat, but after getting off the boat he passed out and subsequently was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, Bradfield said.
Foster was treated and released from the hospital and taken by a sheriff’s deputy to the Troup County Jail, Bradfield said.
At the time of Foster’s arrest, Bradfield and another DNR ranger were on routine patrol at the lake in large part because the July 4 weekend is the lake’s busiest time of year, Bradfield said.
