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O’FALLON, Mo. — Hazelwood police Chief Gregg Hall failed multiple sobriety tests during a recent traffic stop and was called “hammered drunk� by the officer who pulled him over but was then driven home by the O’Fallon police chief instead of being arrested.

Hall appeared to struggle reciting the alphabet, and an officer said that Hall’s blood alcohol content was more than two and half times the legal limit, according to body camera footage obtained by the Post-Dispatch through an open records request.

News of Hall’s traffic stop was run up the O’Fallon police chain of command, eventually reaching then-Chief John Neske. Neske arrived at the traffic stop, spoke privately with one of the officers and gave Hall a hug.

“He and I are going to have a long talk on the way home,� Neske told the officers.

Hall has been with the department for 43 years and took over as chief in 2013. He was chair of the St. Louis Area Police Chief’s Association in 2019, and he said during the May 28 traffic stop that he was set to retire in nine months.

Leslie Knight, a spokeswoman for the St. Charles County prosecutor’s office, said Hall, who made $118,000 last year, had not been charged as of Wednesday afternoon.

Neske, who made $125,000 last year, retired as O’Fallon police chief a few days after Hall’s stop. Neither he nor the O’Fallon Police Department returned calls requesting comment.

Hall, when reached by phone Wednesday, said he had been advised not to comment on the matter and referred the Post-Dispatch to Travis Noble Jr., a DWI lawyer based in Clayton.

Noble disputed the accuracy of the field sobriety tests and questioned the officer’s evaluation of Hall.

What happened

The incident starts just before 3:30 a.m. on May 28, according to police records. Body camera footage captures the stop.

O’Fallon police Officer Nathan Dye pulls over a white Honda truck for speeding on Missouri Highway K, just south of Missouri Highway N.

The officer approaches the truck and talks to the driver, who quickly identifies himself as the Hazelwood police chief.

“The reason why I pulled you over is you’ve been weaving quite a bit,� Dye says to Hall.

The police chief tells the officer he’s coming from White Castle and was swerving because he was eating his food.

Dye tells Hall he wants to make sure the chief isn’t intoxicated and asks him to recite the alphabet from letters D through N without singing.

Hall struggles to do so.

“He just completely butchered the alphabet,� Dye later says to his supervisor.

Hall tells Dye he had been watching a hockey game at B. Hall’s Family Grill before stopping at White Castle, and Dye asks him to submit to a breathalyzer test.

“Chief, before I can let you drive, I have to confirm you’re not impaired, OK?� Dye says.

Dye’s supervising sergeant, never identified by name in the footage, arrives soon after Hall blows in the breathalyzer. Dye tells the supervisor that the chief blew “over 2,� indicating his blood-alcohol content was more than 2½ times the legal driving limit of 0.08.

“He is hammered. He was dodging sniper fire out there; he was weaving all over the place,� Dye says to the sergeant.

The first question the sergeant asks Dye is whether the stop has been recorded on his body camera and vehicle dashboard camera. Dye responds it has.

“Yeah this is a tough day and age, man, you know, when you have, uh, they insist on all these electronic things and technology,� the sergeant says.

“I want you to handle it just like you would handle any other call, any other stop,� he tells Dye. “If you’ve ever given someone a break, you’re welcome to do that, but I am not going to interfere with the process. I don’t care who they are unless their last name is, uh, well, you know what, it don’t even matter.�

Dye then has Hall perform an eye movement test and try to walk a straight line, neither of which he does successfully.

“You realize the position you’re putting us in, right?� Dye asks Hall.

“I understand, but I’m not doing anything. I’m sorry,� Hall replies.

“I’m liable. This is all on camera,� Dye says. “How does it look if I don’t do my job? I’m going to be honest, sir, this is a really bad position you’re putting me in.�

O’Fallon chief arrives

Dye’s supervising sergeant then tells him Neske, the then-O’Fallon police chief, is on his way to the scene.

“I gave a courtesy [call] to my supervisor to let him know the issue and, uh, because you know things like this cause problems,� the sergeant says. “So I wanted him to be aware of what our decision was and give him the opportunity to make a different one or contact the chief of police. And he contacted the chief of police. He lives down the street and he will be here shortly.�

It is never verbalized in the footage what Dye and his supervisor’s decision was prior to the chief being called.

“I don’t want to lock up the chief,� Dye says. “But he’s hammered.�

“Are there more people you know that know about this?� the sergeant asks Dye.

He replies that there are not.

The camera is turned off just before Neske arrives.

But another video provided by the department shows the chief’s interaction.

Neske gets out of the truck, hugs Hall and pulls an officer aside. They speak privately for a little over a minute before Neske approaches Dye.

“Nathan, if I take him home are you going to have any issues?� Neske asks the officer.

“Not at all, Chief,� Dye says. “I’m sorry to get you out here.�

“That’s OK. You do what you gotta do,� Neske responds. “If you don’t mind, I will take him home. I’ve known him for a lot of years.�

“Sorry, sir,� Dye says again.

“Nope, nope,� Neske says. “You did your job.�

Janelle O’Dea of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.