Grosse Pointe Park Officer's Hearing Delayed

A pre-trial hearing scheduled for Tuesday in 43rd District Court in Madison Heights has been adjourned until a date that has yet to be determined for Police Lt. John C. Kretzschmar.

Kretzschmar is charged with a single count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated stemming from . Kretzschmar was scheduled to have a pre-trial conference Tuesday but by agreement of the attorneys—the prosecutor and Kretzschmar's defense attorney—the hearing was adjourned. A new hearing date has not yet been determined but will be within a few days, a district court employee said.

According to the police report obtained by Patch regarding his arrest, another motorist called police on Kretzschmar after he rear-ended her vehicle with his on the Interstate 75 exit ramp for 14 Mile Road. She had been stopped for the red light.

He continued driving and she followed him to the parking lot of a nearby Red Roof Inn, where they were met by Madison Heights police. The responding officer asked Kretzschmar about the crash but he could not answer any questions about it. He admitted to drinking "a few" alcoholic beverages. He had slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol, according to the report.

He could not complete field sobriety tests successfully and agreed to have a portable breath test, which showed he had a blood alcohol content of 0.24. A formal test given after he was taken to the police station showed he had a 0.28 percent blood alcohol content, according to the report.

Kretzschmar has been with the department for more than 20 years working road patrol, Park Public Safety Director David Hiller said. According to the 2010 Public Safety Annual Report on the Park's website, Kretzschmar started with the department Dec. 26, 1985. He was promoted to lieutenant rank in July 1998.

An internal investigation related to Kretzschmar's arrest is underway by the Park's city attorney, Dennis Levasseur, Hiller said. In late December, Hiller said Kretzschmar had been pulled from road patrol pending the outcome of the internal investigation and had been assigned desk duties.

Hiller confirmed Tuesday that the internal investigation is continuing.

Patch is awaiting a return call from Kretzschmar's attroney, Douglas Gutscher, who represents officers throughout the state through the Police Officers Association of Michigan, or POAM.

The new pre-trial hearing date should be set within a few days and what happens during the pre-trial will determine whether a trial is scheduled in the case, according to the Madison Heights clerk's office.