A Georgia Department of Public Safety employee was immediately fired after he was arrested Friday on a charge of driving under the influence.
Joshua Simon, 24, had been working as a non-sworn civilian in the department’s security division for one month when he was arrested about 2:30 a.m., officials said.
He admitted to having three Jager bombs and trying to drive between bushes to get to a local Waffle House, according to a Morrow Police Department incident report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“I asked Simon if he was drunk, and Simon stated that he had three drinks, while holding two fingers up,” Morrow police Officer Micheal Murphy said in the report.
Simon had no other disciplinary actions in his file when he was fired, the state public safety department said.
The incident in question began when Morrow police officer Sgt. Chung Quach noticed a white 2011 Dodge Charger sitting on a curb with reverse lights on in the 1600 block of Mount Zion Road.
Quach approached Simon, who was on the phone with one hand raised.
“Simon stated he did not want any trouble because he had a weapon tucked in his pants between his belly and hip and asked if I could disarm him,” said Quach, who removed the Glock 43.
When asked how his car got on the curb, Simon explained to the officer he thought he could drive between the bushes without getting stuck and make it to the Waffle House.
“While making contact with Simon,” Quach said, “I detected an odor of alcoholic beverage coming from his person.”
Simon, with blood shot eyes and a half-tucked shirt, agreed to a blood alcohol test and other sobriety tests. He failed, police said.
Simon was taken to the Clayton County Jail.
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