2007 Hyundai Tucson

Police say cop killed in crash was drunk

Alcohol tests returned a reading of .33 percent, the report says. The legal limit is .08 percent.

The cause of death, determined by the Lafourche Parish Coroner's Office, is internal bleeding caused by blunt-force trauma. His head hit the windshield, his chest hit the steering wheel, and his knees hit the dashboard, the report says.

Suitt was not wearing a seat belt.

Suitt, a five-year university police veteran, was bound for work when he ran the stop sign at Menard Street and Audubon Avenue, driving head-on into the building instead of turning onto Audubon Avenue.

The posted speed limit is 25 mph. The reports says he was traveling 46 mph at the time of impact.

Also included in the report are interviews with Suitt's co-workers and supervisors. They say he was supposed to report for work that day between 4:30 and 5 a.m.

When he didn't show up, coworkers and dispatchers called his home and cell with no success. A co-worker went to his St. Philip Street apartment about 6:20 a.m., but he wasn't home.

A patrolling Thibodaux Police officer spotted the crash about a half hour later and summoned help, the report says.

Investigators later learned that a campus surveillance video camera recorded the crash, which occurred at 4:51 a.m.

Nicholls Police Chief Craig Jaccuzzo said Suitt was a model employee and never showed up unable to perform his job duties.

“Joey had always performed at the standards required,” Jaccuzzo said. “He never had any issues during his work time.”

Nicholls police are commissioned law-enforcement officers with arrest powers. They do 24-hour patrols, direct traffic and respond to medical emergencies, fires and wrecks.

Jaccuzzo, chief since 2004, said a supervisor would have intervened had Suitt reported for duty drunk.

“An officer who is not fit for duty in any shape, be it impaired, intoxicated or anything that can affect an officer physically or emotionally, we will address that on what would be the most efficient,” Jaccuzzo said, explaining that cases are handled on an individual basis.

Suitt's father, Billy Suitt, declined comment on the toxicology report. His brother, Maxwell Suitt, said he was shocked to learn the results.

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