photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Lawrence Police Department Headquarters, 5100 Overland Drive

A Lawrence police detective who was involved in a car crash had a blood alcohol content that was more than three times the legal limit and refused all sobriety tests afterward, according to the arrest affidavit in his case.

The detective, Adam Welch, 38, of Lawrence, has been charged in Douglas County District Court with a DUI after he reportedly crashed into a parked car in the 1500 block of Lindenwood Lane after midnight on Sept. 3, as the Journal-World previously reported.

Welch’s case is being handled by an out-of town prosecutor, Karen Cudlin Wittman from the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office, who had requested that the arrest affidavit for Welch be sealed. However, Judge Merlin Wheeler denied that request. Wheeler is handling the case, per a request by Chief Judge James McCabria that a senior judge be assigned.

The affidavit, sworn to by Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputy Richard Whitis, indicates that the sheriff’s office was asked to take control of the investigation at the scene once it became evident that Welch was a Lawrence police officer.

Whitis reports in the affidavit that Welch admitted to being the driver but when asked how much he had to drink declined to answer and said he was going to talk to a lawyer.

Welch refused to take sobriety tests at the scene, Whitis wrote, indicating that Welch smelled strongly of alcohol and had bloodshot and watery eyes. Whitis then arrested Welch for DUI.

Whitis indicated in the affidavit that a Lawrence police officer at the scene told Whitis that Welch had said, “Put me in handcuffs, take me to jail. I’m f*ed. I’m not going to survive this.”

At the Douglas County Jail, Whitis wrote, Welch at first agreed to take a breath test, but then changed his mind, and also declined to provide a blood sample.

Whitis then applied for a search warrant to have Welch’s blood drawn. Judge Mark Simpson approved the warrant, and Welch was taken to LMH Health at 3:25 a.m., several hours after the crash had occurred.

Weeks later, testing by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation showed that Welch had a blood alcohol content of 0.25. The legal limit for driving in Kansas is .08.

Per protocol, Welch was immediately placed on paid administrative leave pending internal investigation by the Office of Professional Accountability and the Lawrence chief of police, Rich Lockhart, who said he was “personally saddened” by the event.

Welch is scheduled for arraignment on Dec. 2. After his arrest he was released on a $250 cash bond.