Police Officer Drunk, Busted In Fatal Hit And Run

An NYPD police officer was drunk when he got busted for a fatal hit and run. Joseph McClean hit a St. George Ferry Terminal dock worker Friday morning, resulting in DWI and vehicular manslaughter charges.

William Hemphill, 51, was getting his morning coffee a little after 6am at the intersection of Simonson Avenue and Richmond Terrace, when he was struck and killed by a drunk and off-duty Officer Joseph McClean. The 29-year-old officer had been with the force for eight years when his 2010 Ford Escape sent the older man off the windshield and to his grave.

The NYPD officer fled the scene, and then returned less than an hour later to take a breathalyzer test, at which point he was recorded as having a blood-alcohol content of.07 percent, just below the legal limit. Joseph McClean, the drunk police officer, was immediately arrested.

William Hemphill was a union operating engineer and grandfather of five who lived in the bodega. He had been crossing the street to go to work when the drunk police officer hit him.

The bodega’s owner, Mike Kalbouneh, said that the dock worker had landed a block away after being struck by the off-duty officer, and despite wearing a hard hat he never had a chance.

Drunk driver that killed someone in a hit-n-run on Richmond road turns out to be an off-duty police officer

— OSOxReal (@thisistrevv) October 4, 2013

William Vidal, who lives down the block, said he heard a loud bang and saw William Hemphill flipping through the air. He and his flatmate had called 911 and investigated his injuries. One foot was bent behind him and his stomach was bloated, and his pulse was extremely faint. He died in the hospital shortly after. Of the drunk police officer William Vidal said, “There were no skid marks. He didn’t even make an attempt to stop.”

William Vidal’s flatmate Thomas Ramirez said that 15 minutes after the drunk police officer killed the man in a hit and run, he returned and calmly told officers it was him, smelling and sounding the way the breathalyzer had confirmed. He had a look about him that told everyone he couldn’t believe what he’d just done.

When asked if he’d been drinking, drunk police officer Joseph McClean told them he refused to talk about it without his representative. Bail has been set at $50,000.