El Paso, Texas, cop Andrea Zendejas, often featured on the ride-along TV show Live PD, was a passenger in an alleged early morning DUI-related car crash. According to the El Paso Times, which obtained a police complaint affidavit, Zendejas’ face “was covered with blood” after the accident. Fortunately her injuries are described as minor. The driver of the Dodge Ram pickup that allegedly rear-ended a parked Mazda, Officer Thomas Sneed, 39, has also appeared on the hit reality series. Sneed was reportedly driving Zendejas to a friend’s residence after they left a bar near police headquarters when the accident occurred.
The two law enforcement officers apparently met at a local adult beverage establishment after Sneed’s shift ended.
More from the Times about the March 9 incident that has just surfaced:
“Two off-duty El Paso police officers featured on Live PDwere at a Five Points bar before getting into a suspected drunk-driving crash with a parked car. Officer Thomas Sneed was arrested Saturday on a driving-while-intoxicated charge and his passenger, Officer Andrea Zendejas, was injured when she hit the windshield during the crash, police documents stated….Zendejas, with her signature hair bun, became a fan-favorite on the TV show.”
Live PD viewers know that Zendejas, a U.S. Army veteran, has a gracious, friendly disposition when encountering citizens on patrol that allowed her to de-escalate many situations. As alluded to above, she received treatment at a local hospital for minor injuries, according to ABC El Paso affiliate KVIA. What has become known as Live PD Nation obviously wishes her a speedy recovery.
The other vehicle’s two occupants were fortunately unhurt in the collision.
Added KVIA:
“The criminal complaint states that as Sneed was driving north on Piedras, his phone rang and he looked down at it. When Sneed looked back up, he saw the Mazda right in front of him, the document adds. The wreck was reported at 2:32 a.m., police said… The police officers who initially responded to the scene of the wreck said they noticed Sneed had red, blood-shot eyes, slurred speech, swayed balance and the odor of alcohol eminating from his breath, the criminal complaint states. Sneed allegedly told the responding officers he drank two beers and two tequila shots at Duet’s, a nearby bar on Montana Avenue.”
Sneed reportedly failed voluntary field sobriety testing, although a breathalyzer exam showed that he was just below the 0.08 legal limit, KTSM reported.
After the officer was booked at the El Paso County Jail on a suspicion of DWI charge, he obtained his release on a $1,00 bond and is now on desk duty pending an internal affairs investigation.
“Sneed failed a field sobriety test and at 4:37 a.m. was arrested on a DWI charge, stated the complaint, which does not explain why Sneed was arrested nearly two hours after the crash,” the Times added.
Each Live PD episode embeds videographers in eight different police agencies across the country. DUI traffic stops are standard on the show. “How much have you had to drink tonight” is a routine question in those encounters. At the risk of being naive, you might wonder if cops working in a high-profile agency would be more circumspect about allegedly drinking and driving. It also raises the age-old question of who will watch the watchers.
As of November 2018, El Paso is not currently among the police agencies on Live PD, but it could possibly could return to the broadcast. Another agency, the Pasco County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office in the Tampa area, has announced that it taking a break from the show, which airs on Friday and Saturday evenings on the A&E network at 9 p.m. Eastern. Fresh Live PD episodes resume on March 29 with the return of deputies with the Greene County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office.
Check back for updates on the Officer Andrea Zendejas alleged DUI-related accident in El Paso.
Featured image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
