BC cop had previous alcohol trouble

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (WOOD) - A Battle Creek police officer who was a drunken passenger in an off-duty crash was already facing alcohol-related trouble with her department, according to records obtained Wednesday by 24 Hour News 8.

Jennifer Appl had a blood-alcohol level of 0.369 when the car driven by fellow off-duty officer William Gensch crashed on July 31 just outside the city.

Records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show Appl lied after failing to report to work in May.

When her supervisors asked her if she was "at the hospital for an alcohol-related condition," she told them she was not.

It's not clear why her supervisors suspected that.

However, Appl called later and admitted lying because she was "too embarrassed to say you were in the hospital due to alcohol," the report states.

Battle Creek police said they found a Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Department report showing they had made a "detox pickup of an intoxicated female" at her home and taken her to Borgess Medical Center about 10:30 p.m. the night before she failed to show up for work.

In a letter dated July 27, four days before the crash, Battle Creek Police Chief Jackie Hampton wrote to Appl that he had suspended her for 15 days, and threatened to fire her for future "untruthful statements."

Appl signed that letter on Aug. 1, the day after the crash.

"The allegations against you are extremely serious," Hampton wrote. "I am especially concerned in regards to these allegations being related to the consumption of alcohol, and encourage you to take part in the services that have previously been offered to you."

Appl was not disciplined for the alcohol-related crash on July 31.

The driver of the car, Gensch, who had a blood-alcohol level of 0.285, was suspended for 20 days.