Brielle Leary
Brielle Leary, 34, a Chattanooga Police cadet, was arrested early Tuesday morning for driving under the influence.
According to the arrest report affidavit filed by Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department deputies, at approximately 6:55 a.m. on Tuesday, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department responded to a single-vehicle accident in the 7800 block of Hale Road, just north of Thrasher Pike.
Deputies said that Ms. Leary identified herself as the driver of a silver Nissan Pathfinder that was off the right side of the roadway. Deputies said the vehicle had come to rest on a guide wire to the power pole.
In the affidavit of complaint, Deputy Dustin Bowes said that she was unsteady on her feet and “almost fell to the ground on two separate occasions while walking around the Nissan.”
Ms. Leary told deputies that she had hydroplaned on the roadway and struck a tree. Mr. Bowes said that the evidence at the scene did not support this recollection of events. However, the affidavit said evidence suggested she was traveling south on Hale Road, left the left side of the road while negotiating a curve to the right, struck a tree, rotated, and then came to rest on the guide wire of the power pole.
When the deputy was speaking to Ms. Leary, her speech was slurred and fast. In the right front floor board, the deputy saw an empty, clear beer bottle wrapped in a paper sack.
Ms. Leary failed the deputy's sobriety tests and was taken into custody.
Two patrol firearms were released to the Chattanooga Police Department from her Nissan.
She was booked in Silverdale on a charge of driving under the influence and released on a $3,000 bond. She is set to appear in Judge Gary Starnes courtroom on Jan. 17, 2023.