PLEASANT HILL, Iowa -- The city of Pleasant Hill Friday terminated a police officer who is accused of crashing his police squad car while high on methamphetamine. That's just one of several new developments in the case of Sgt. Daniel Edwards.
Edwards also was charged with burglary, a Class D felony. Late Friday afternoon, authorities confirmed that the burglary charge was filed because there is probable cause Sgt. Edwards stole meth from the Pleasant Hill evidence room.
Sgt. Edwards turned himself in to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Iowa State Patrol. He was booked into the Polk County jail and released on bond Friday afternoon.
Earlier this week, Edwards was also charged with Operating While Intoxicated. Police said Edwards was high on drugs when he crashed his patrol car on April first on the Highway 65 bypass. Edwards' squad car crashed into a motorist, hit a concrete bridge railing and ran down an embankment.
Police said a state trooper found a small amount of methamphetamine on Edwards after the accident and charged him with a misdemeanor drug charge.
Since then, the state patrol has received test results that prompted the OWI charge earlier this week, accusing Edwards of driving under the influence of a drug.
Pleasant Hill police say they've now changed procedures at the evidence room to try to prevent future theft of controlled substances.
Edwards had been on paid administrative leave since the April 1st crash until his employment was terminated late Friday afternoon.
"We have rules and regulations and policies in place that prohibit certain types of behavior, some of which Sgt. Edwards has committed," said Pleasant Hill police chief Tim Sittig. "Based on those violations we've dismissed him from the city," Sittig said.
