Portsmouth police officer convicted of DUI after going 111 mph on interstate

HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — A former Portsmouth officer was convicted of a DUI and reckless driving on Thursday.

Hampton Police say Carmen Johnson initially passed four police cars with lights on that were stopped along Mercury Boulevard on an unrelated traffic stop.

Johnson was clocked at 111 mph on I-64 in Hampton back in May. Johnson was a Portsmouth police officer. She had a blood alcohol content of .09.

She told officers she had one drink of Tequila and cranberry juice.

Johnson failed several field sobriety tests. An arresting officer admitted in court that when he tested Johnson for eye movement he didn’t hold the target in place long enough.

“If you do it for a short period of time, that doesn’t measure it,” Bishop said, “I’ll never say a negative thing about a judge, especially Judge Kerns, I love Kerns, he’s a great guy. But I don’t think he got it right.”

A General District Court Judge found Johnson, who until late May was an active police officer for the city of Portsmouth, guilty of DUI, reckless driving and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle.

The department did not immediately respond to WAVY’s inquiry to her current status following the conviction on the three misdemeanor charges.

“Obviously we’re upset. We’re not happy with it, but you live to fight another day,” Johnson’s defense attorney William Bishop said outside the courthouse following the verdict and sentencing by Judge Richard Kerns.

As a result of her conviction, her license was suspended and she will spend 10 days in jail and pay a $650 fine. A Hampton detective testified that Johnson kicked him when she was arrested, and she was originally charged with felony assault on a law enforcement officer, but the Commonwealth set that charge aside.

10 On Your Side’s Chris Horne will have more updates throughout the day.

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