Off-Duty Cop Charged With Driving Drunk On LIE: Police

ISLANDIA, NY - An off-duty Nassau police officer was arrested in Suffolk County after he was caught driving drunk on the Long Island Expressway on Wednesday.

Suffolk Police confirmed that Michael Bjornstad, 39, of Selden, was arrested on a DWI charge on the eastbound LIE by exit 59 in Islandia at about 4 a.m.

Nassau Police have not released any information to Patch.

Bjornstad, an officer with Nassau's Second Precinct for 13 years, had stopped on the right lane of the expressway and "fell asleep," according to a report in Newsday.

The officer who found him claimed Bjornstad had "bloodshot glassy eyes, slurred speech, and a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath," Newsday reports.

Police spokesman Det. Lt. Richard LeBrun told Newsday that he was "suspended without pay pending the results of an Internal Affairs Bureau investigation."

Bjornstad was arraigned on Wednesday at First District Court in Central Islip. He pleaded not guilty and was released on his own recognizance.

According to court records, he was also charged with refusing to take a breath test.

Bjornstad is due back in court on Feb. 28.

Photo: SCPD