The chief of a fire company in Allegheny County was charged with driving under the influence after allegedly blowing through a stop sign at an intersection in Saxonburg.

According to a criminal complaint, Chase Warren Slepak, 28, drove through a stop sign on April 26 around 11 p.m., and when a Saxonburg Borough police officer stopped him, allegedly said he had two to three beers at the Saxonburg Hotel.

The officer, Justine Kummer, noted the smell of alcohol coming from Slepak. Kummer told Slepak to get out of the car for a field sobriety test. Slepak responded that he was the fire chief of Fawn Township and that Kummer was “going to ruin” his life. Slepak has been the fire chief of Fire Company No. 2 since 2018, according to reports.

On May 29, Slepak waived two charges of driving under the influence before District Judge Sue Haggerty. He is scheduled for a formal arraignment in July.

Slepak's lawyer was unavailable for comment on Friday but David Montanari, chairman of the Fawn Township board of supervisors, said Slepak's conduct that night was “a bad choice and then a bad choice made worst by saying those things to the cop. But he's a dedicated public servant and has everybody's best interest in mind. Going forward, he's still our captain. This doesn't change anything.”

According to court and police documents, Slepak had difficulty walking and failed the field sobriety test, prompting Kummer to call for backup from Buffalo Township. While waiting, Slepak tried persuading Kummer to let him go, and when Kummer said “that was not happening,” Slepak allegedly discussed Fawn Township's chief of police and a Buffalo Township police officer whom he hoped would respond. It's unclear to which Buffalo officer Slepak was referring. Slepak also allegedly tried to appeal to Kummer's “professional courtesy” and said his wife is a federal prosecutor.

Kummer responded by telling Slepak that he was going to take a portable breath test. Slepak allegedly said that this would be bad. When Kummer asked for clarification, Slepak allegedly said he understood that he shouldn't have been driving, and then asked Kummer if he could get a ride home, rather than “going through the rest of the DUI process.”

Slepak allegedly said he would prefer a blood test and he was taken to UPMC Passavant in Cranberry for it. He also had a loaded gun that was confiscated since his car was towed. Kummer alleged that on the way to the hospital, Slepak continued to talk about professional courtesy, and asked if Kummer could wait until Monday to file the paperwork, so that he could get the Fawn police chief to try to convince Saxonburg Police Chief Joe Beachem to drop the charges.

“I have no idea why he would think I would do that,” Beachem said in a response for comment. “No contact has been made by them. The first time I heard about (Slepak) and the incident was when I read the report.”

Beachem also said that the department doesn't engage in favoritism, and that even if he'd known Slepak, he wouldn't have dropped the charges.

“That's against the law,” Beachem said.

Fawn's police chief, Tim Mayberry, is the department's only full-time police officer, according to reports, and he didn't immediately return requests for comment.

Slepak's blood was drawn after midnight and the lab results allegedly indicated his level was .154. Slepak's mother picked him up from the hospital after the test. Kummer told his mother that the charges would be filed after the weekend, and that his gun could be picked up once he was sober.

“Slepak became rude,” Kummer writes in the criminal complaint, “and stated things such as, 'I hope you sleep well tonight — 15 (expletive) years of public service and this is the (expletive) thanks I get.'”

Kummer responded that she could have arrested him for the DUI and taken him to the Butler County Prison to be detained.

Montanari said, “He's an outstanding young man that's dedicated himself for years. From a youth, he did everything right. This is a guy who made a bad choice and then bad choice worst but he's a dedicated public servant and has everybody's best interest.”

Montanari continued, “Hopefully this is lesson learned. Move on and be a better and stronger person. I'm sure Chase will overcome this. He's overcome many hardships. It is a tough image that some of those guys have. We do more than sit around and carry on (drinking).”