SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah — A South Salt Lake police officer has been arrested after he was allegedly under the influence of alcohol while in a police vehicle.
Michael Starley Hatch, 60, faces charges of DUI and Carrying a Dangerous Weapon While Under the Influence following his arrest on Sunday.
According to the arrest report, a UHP trooper was called to the South Salt Lake Police Department at 8 a.m. after a supervisor claimed Hatch was potentially under the influence while operating a police vehicle during a patrol shift.
Hatch, who is described as an officer trainee and was armed with a handgun, was in the vehicle with a field training officer, who said they could "smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Hatch's breath."
After the training officer notified a supervisor, Hatch was brought back to the department, where every officer on duty was asked to submit a breath test. Hatch was the only one of the officers to test positive for alcohol, the report said.
The UHP trooper was called in to avoid a conflict of interest and wrote that he could see that Hatch's eyes were "glossy and extremely bloodshot." The trooper added that he could also smell the odor of alcohol when speaking with Hatch.
Hatch told the trooper that he had consumed a pint of tequila at approximately 11 p.m. the night before.
During a field sobriety test, Hatch allegedly showed signs of being incapable of operating a vehicle. A test later found Hatch's blood alcohol concentration to be 0.075%, exceeding the legal Utah limit of 0.05%.
Hatch, who was taken into custody and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail, had previously served on the Salt Lake City Police Department for more than 20 years, achieving the rank of captain before his position was eliminated in 2024.
In a statement, South Salt Lake police said Hatch is no longer employed by the department.
