A sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department was arrested by his coworkers last week after showing up to work just hours after allegedly hitting and killed a pedestrian while driving under the influence.
Police arrested Carlos Coronel on February 1 when he arrived for work at the LAPD’s Newton Division, the Los Angeles Times reported. Hours earlier, police suspect Coronel had been driving under the influence in nearby Orange County, where he hit and killed a pedestrian just before 4 a.m. From the Times
Tustin police Sgt. Ryan Newton said officers there were called about 3:57 a.m. Saturday to report of a person down in the street in the area of Nisson Road and Del Amo Avenue. When they arrived, the found a man suffering from injuries from being struck by a vehicle; he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Newton said the investigation led police to suspect that Coronel had been drinking and they arrested him later that day, without elaborating further. He said the department expects to release additional details about the incident on Tuesday.
Neither the Orange County Coroner nor Coronel responded to requests for a statement. In a statement to the LA Times, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell called Coronel’s alleged actions unacceptable and disturbing.
Let me be clear: the actions alleged in this case are absolutely unacceptable. Sergeant Coronel’s alleged involvement in a felony hit-and-run is not only disturbing, but it betrays the trust of the public and the oath we take as law enforcement officers. There is no tolerance for criminal behavior within this Department, and I want to assure the community that we will continue to cooperate with the Tustin Police Department and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office as their investigation continues.
What’s more disturbing is that this is the second time in two months that something like this involving an LAPD officer has happened. On Christmas Eve 2024, LAPD rookie Aaron Kleibacker allegedly hit and killed a bicyclist in Ontario, California. Like Coronel, Kleibacker also fled the scene of the crime. He was later booked and charged with vehicular manslaughter and was released on Christmas.
In April 2024, an off-duty LAPD lieutenant, who was also known to post things speaking out against drunk driving online, was arrested for a DUI after getting into a crash that injured another driver on the 605 freeway. And on January 15, an officer out of the LAPD’s Hollenbeck station was arrested in Imperial County after he, while allegedly driving under the influence, flipped the off-road vehicle that carried his wife and kids. In 2021, the Los Angeles Police Commission considered new rules to restrict alcohol use by officers due to excessive off-duty drinking.