Bellevue police officer suspended for drunken behavior now faces DUI charge

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Bellevue police Officer Andrew Hanke was charged with driving under the influence on Thursday.

Hanke is the same Bellevue police officer suspended by his department last year for drunk and disorderly conduct at a Seattle Seahawks game in September of 2012.

Hanke, an 8-year veteran of the Bellevue Police Department, was pulled over while driving eastbound on I-90 near Issaquah the night of Nov. 20^th.

According to a police report, Hanke was driving erratically, speeding and abruptly changing lanes.

The Bellevue police officer who pulled him over, Doug Brennan, was on his way home from work around 9p.m. and recognized Hanke’s gold Jeep as it passed him traveling at 73 mph.

In his police report, Brennan wrote that Hanke smelled of alcohol and had "a glazed look on his face."   See the police report here.

Brennan also wrote that he told Hanke “that he was drunk,”  but Brennan did not test Hanke for DUI.

Officer Brennan called Hanke’s wife and allowed her to drive Hanke home without arresting him.

Now, Hanke has been charged with DUI by the city of Issaquah and is on paid leave pending an internal investigation.

Officer Brennan is still on the job, but he is also being investigated by Bellevue for how he handled the DUI.

Bellevue Police Chief Linda Pillo released the following statement on Thursday:  "I expect our officers to abide by our guiding principles of respect, accountability, integrity and service, and to abide by the laws of the state of Washington both on and off duty. If these allegations are sustained, the involved officers will be held accountable for their actions."

Hanke was suspended from the Bellevue Police Department for 30 days without pay late last year because of drunk and disorderly conduct before and during a Seahawks game in Seattle on Sept. 16, 2012.

He and another Bellevue Police Department officer, then-corporal Dion Robertson, harassed a Seattle police officer after drinking multiple beers, whiskey and vodka cocktails.  Both were removed from Bellevue Police Department’s bomb squad because of their behavior.  Robertson was also demoted.

KIRO 7 reporter Amy Clancy asked Officer Seth Tyler, the acting public information officer of the Bellevue Police Department, whether Hanke’s DUI charge could result in his firing, but Tyler did not respond.

KIRO