Cop charged after allegedly driving drunk, crashing

PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - The off-duty police officer accused of striking several parked cars while driving drunk in North Philadelphia, Wednesday morning, has been "taken into custody for suspicion of driving under the influence and transported to the Police Detention Unit for testing."

Philadelphia police made that announcement Thursday, saying "Officer (Nicholas) Harper struck several parked cars. Responding officers observed signs of impairment upon making contact with Officer Harper."

The series of crashes happened at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday and 6th and Oxford streets.

Harper -- who is 40 and a four-year police vet -- was driving his own car and struck four other cars.

Earlier, police had said his blood alcohol content according the breathalyzer was .198, which is two-and-a-half times the legal limit.

The 22nd District officer was put on desk duty.

Officer Harpe is expected to be placed on civilian status because he'll lose his license to patrol over the pending DUI charge. Instead, he'd work at Police Headquarters and would not be fired.

According to neighbors, the driver stumbled out of the jeep and assured them everything's OK because he's a cop. Given the apparent force of the crashes, the time of day likely made the difference no one was hurt.