The Camden News has learned that an officer involved in a collision earlier this month and subsequently charged with DWI has been fired.
A spokesperson for the Camden Police Department said that Ben Opelt was “terminated from the Camden Police Department as of Dec. 9.”
Opelt was arrest in the early morning hours of Dec. 1 after he collided with a fence along the playground area of Carver Courts Housing Authority. A crash report from the Arkansas state police says that his vehicle left the roadway and struck an AT&T utility pole and then traveled 90 feet before striking the fence.
The report estimates $3,000 of damage was done in the crash.
When Camden police arrived on scene and called Camden Police Chief Boyd Woody, he instructed them to hand the investigation over to the Arkansas State Police.
Footage from bodycams show Opelt refusing to comply when state troopers ask him to perform a breathalyzer test.
He was charged was charged with DWI, as well as failure to maintain control and refusal to submit to a breathalyzer. The report notes that the he was suspected of alcohol usage.