[February 03, 2010] Columbia officer gets ARD for DUI in York County Tweet Feb 03, 2010 (York Daily Record - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Columbia Borough Police Officer Daniel Clayton Bell, demoted from detective after his May DUI crash in Hallam, has been accepted into a pretrial diversionary program. Bell will be allowed to carry his sidearm on duty while in the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program, according to the York County District Attorney's Office. People on ARD or on probation are typically required to surrender their weapons. Bell, 36, of Hellam Township, was charged with driving under the influence, accidents involving damage to an unattended vehicle, careless driving, failure to notify police and driving in the wrong lane after his Jeep Cherokee struck a parked, unoccupied Jeep Cherokee in the 400 block of East Market Street in Hallam about 3 a.m. May 3. In an e-mail Tuesday, Bell said, "I am looking forward to completing my obligation in the ARD program as soon as possible and moving forward with my everyday life. "I would like to take this tragic situation and turn it into a positive one by informing others of the seriousness of the incident. I have always strived to do the very best when it comes to my law enforcement career and have never nor will ever condone driving a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol, no matter how small an amount it might be. "That, along with talking on a cellular phone or texting while driving a motor vehicle, extremely impairs a driver's reaction time to respond to any sudden changes on the roadway." A blood test placed Bell's alcohol level at 0.184 percent, more than twice the 0.08 percent level at which an adult driver is considered to be drunk under Pennsylvania law. The collision flipped Bell's Jeep onto its roof and ripped the right rear passenger tire off the other Jeep and pushed that vehicle from the roadway into a nearby driveway. Bell left the scene after the crash, police said. A Hellam Township Police officer found Bell's badge, driver's license, police identification and a .25-caliber handgun in the Bell's Jeep. To see more of the York Daily Record, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.ydr.com. Copyright (c) 2010, York Daily Record, Pa. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]