Sumner police chief arrested for second-offense OWI
Chad Koch
SUMNER – The Sumner chief of police was arrested last weekend for second-offense operating while intoxicated.
Chad Koch, 41, was pulled over in Hardin County on Sunday, April 18, after a witness reported seeing a vehicle traveling east on U.S. Highway 20 almost enter a ditch and hit another vehicle, according to court records.
Around 10:40 p.m., a deputy with the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office pulled over the vehicle, a gray Chrysler SUV driven by Koch, of 213 W. First St., Sumner. Koch also reportedly ran a stop sign before the deputy pulled him over on the eastbound 175 exit on county road D35.
After Koch failed field sobriety tests, he was detained and transported to the jail for further testing. His blood alcohol content level was .09% at that time, records state.
Court records also show Koch received a deferred judgment for operating while intoxicated in Polk County on Jan. 1, 2015, when police received three 911 reports from motorists of a gray SUV driving onto an off-ramp near Merle Hay Road in Des Moines. He then corrected himself before proceeding onto Interstate 80 and traveling east at a high rate of speed, records state.
Koch then took the Northeast Second Avenue exit, where he was stopped by Urbandale Police and the Iowa State Patrol. His blood alcohol content level was .172%, records show.
Sumner City Attorney Patrick Dillon declined to comment on the matter, and calls to Sumner Mayor Billy Lehmkuhl were not returned.
The Sumner Police Department’s Facebook page shows Koch began working at the department on Oct. 1, and was sworn in by former Mayor Jeff Smith on Oct. 5, 2020.
According to the post, Koch is a 16-year law enforcement veteran. He was certified by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy in 2005, has worked as a patrol officer, detective, Drug Task Force investigator, emergency response team (S.W.A.T.) operator and patrol sergeant. The post also said Koch is an Iowa Law Enforcement Academy instructor in firearms, rifle, defensive tactics and is a certified field training officer.
A Facebook post from the Madrid Police Department in Boone County shows Koch was a police officer there in 2018.
Koch also is listed online as a real estate agent with Iowa Realty.
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