Local officer charged with DUI on the job

BRADDOCK, Pa. — A local police officer is facing charges for allegedly being high on fentanyl while on the job.

Officer Renee Jones of the Braddock Police Department is charged with DUI.

According to a criminal complaint, Jones went to UPMC McKeesport on Jan. 24 for a report of a man with a gunshot wound. Another officer at the hospital said Jones had a “dazed look on her face.” Her pupils were dilated, and her speech was slurred, the complaint said.

A short time later, Jones was allegedly found passed out in her cruiser behind the wheel and it took several tries to wake her up.

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Jones was fired from the department as soon as the results came back indicating fentanyl in her system.

According to Allegheny County police, she was under the influence while on the job and driving her patrol car in late January.

Channel 11 got the paperwork that says Jones was the only officer on duty on the night of Jan. 24, when a man was shot on Lobinger Avenue.

Jones will be in court May 6. Her attorney, Marc Daffner, sent the following statement:

"We have a toxicology screen from UPMC showing nothing in her system and it's my understanding that she was diagnosed with exhaustion, dehydration and sleep apnea. Other than that, it's too new a case to really know anything yet."

Cox Media Group