Trooper: Tenn. deputy became belligerent, was locked in K-9 cage after arrest on DUI charge

Trooper: Deputy locked in dog cage after DUI stop

BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee sheriff’s deputy arrested on a drunken driving charge wound up in a dog house before he was taken to the big house.

The Kingsport Times-News reported the details of a Tennessee Highway Patrol arrest report, which said 47-year-old Samuel Monroe Bledsoe was kicking the windows of a trooper’s cruiser on his way to a hospital for a blood test.

The report says Bledsoe was then locked inside the cruiser’s K-9 cage for his safety.

Trooper David Osborne said in the report that Bledsoe performed poorly during a field sobriety test — even after it was explained to Bledsoe 18 times.

The Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office later fired Bledsoe.

Bledsoe was free Wednesday on $1,500 bond. A message left at a phone number listed for Bledsoe was not immediately returned.

Information from: Kingsport Times-News, www.timesnews.net