DUI charge dropped against Green Tree police officer

GREEN TREE, Pa. — A Green Tree police officer will be going back on the job after a DUI charge against him was dropped.

A judge dropped the DUI charge against Officer Eric Diehl during a preliminary hearing Wednesday.

Diehl allegedly crashed into a vehicle on a used car lot on Saw Mill Run Boulevard in his SUV in December. Police said moments before that happened, Diehl ran a red light at the intersection with Maytide Street and smashed into another car.

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The Allegheny County District Attorney's Office argued that Diehl was given several field sobriety tests and he admitted to drinking three beers while in West Virginia three hours earlier.

Diehl's attorney's argued his blood alcohol level in one of the tests was too low. Police paperwork shows the first test was 0.083 and then it was 0.076, which is below the 0.08 legal limit.

The judge ultimately sided with Diehl.

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"He's had a great career as an officer; he's never had any issues. I think this is a situation of a rookie police officer. I think he was on the job for 12 months. I think he was being overzealous. I think the commonwealth was being overzealous," Diehl's attorney, Wendy Williams said.

Diehl had been placed on administrative leave.  He will return to duty with Green Tree police, the chief said.

Cox Media Group