Onalaska Fire Chief Billy Hayes drunk driving arrest 04/17/2019
1:45 Traffic stop
16:30 got him out of car
22:00 Field sobriety tests, he stumbled and couldn't walk straight
29:00 Cuffed him and asked him about changing his license/plates over to Wisconsin
1:14 Breathalizer scored .137 and .140
1:48 Read him rights he did NOT waive his rights and answer questions
Onalaska Fire Chief William “Billy” Hayes was arrested April 7 2019 for drunk driving. An Onalaska officer pulled over a vehicle for speeding early on Sunday morning. The driver, immediately blurted out that he was the fire chief. Hayes told the officer he was returning from dinner in La Crosse. He admitted to the officer that he had been drinking for 5 or 6 hours. The officer performed field sobriety tests which you can see Hayes failed miserably. Hayes was taken to the Onalaska Police Department, he blew a .137 and a .14 in two breathalyzer tests.
Hayes and his wife BOTH admitted they were out drinking with "Chief" Cavender. Assistant police chief Jeff Cavender was suspended a few days later and the resigned. We have yet to hear the details on Cavender's resignation
The officer wrote three citations for Hayes. One was for OWI 1st Offense, one for Operating with a Prohibited Alcohol Concentration 1st Offense, and lastly, one for speeding. He was eventually released to the custody of his wife about two hours after the traffic stop.
Hayes told the officer, Travis Gordon, at one point, “What I don’t understand is that I’m the fire chief and you’re going to do me this way.” Officer Gordon told Hayes that “he admitted to consuming alcohol and that I detected an odor of intoxicant when I approached his vehicle, and that based on that I was going to treat him as I would any other motorist.”
As a result of the arrest, Hayes must appear before the Coulee Region Joint Municipal Court on June 3 on the three charges. In the interim he was suspended until last friday when he signed a "deal" with mayor Joe Chilsen. This deal must be approved by the Onalaska police and fire commission at their next meeting on monday April 29 at 3:00 at city hall. Public input is allowed at police and fire commission meeting, so if you let them know that this sort of embarrassment and liability is NOT how Onalaska should operate.
Arrest Report
Billy's court date is today. They will probably slap him on the wrist and promote him since there are so many open positions in Onalaska these days.
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