GRANBY — Former Belchertown Police Chief Francis R. Fox was arrested on charges of drunken driving and a marked lanes violation on Sunday night in Granby.
At around 11:20 p.m. on Sunday, Granby police responded to a report of an erratic driver on the East State Street section of Route 202.
Fox, 54, who was driving south, allegedly “crossed completely over the double yellow marked lanes on two occasions, almost hit numerous vehicles on the roadway, and almost struck a utility pole,” according to a police report filed in court.
Granby police found and stopped Fox on State Street after reportedly seeing his car drift into the oncoming lane by about three feet.
Officers observed that Fox allegedly had “a strong odor of alcoholic beverages” on his breath, as well as slurred speech and bloodshot, glossy eyes.
Fox allegedly told the officers that he had been out and had a “couple of drinks,” according to police, and refused to take field sobriety tests. Officers then arrested Fox on charges of operating under the influence of alcohol and a marked lanes violation.
Officers transported Fox to the Granby Police Department, where he allegedly refused a breath test and had his driver’s license seized.
According to court documents, Clerk Magistrate Lois Cignoli was contacted and allowed Fox to be released on personal recognizance with a $40 fee. Fox appeared in Eastern Hampshire District Court on Monday.
The incident marks the second time in recent years that Fox was pulled over for allegedly driving under the influence. In 2015, Fox resigned from his post as Belchertown’s police chief after Granby Police Chief Alan Wishart, following inquiries from the Gazette and other local media outlets, released a police report revealing that Fox had been stopped on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. He was not charged, and was driven home by a Granby police officer.
The police report from the February 2015 incident details that Granby patrolman Jason Richard pulled Fox over after another driver alerted police that someone was driving on the wrong side of the road and almost hit another car.
Fox allegedly slurred his words, stumbled getting out of his car, smelled of alcohol, and had bloodshot, glossy eyes when Richard pulled him over, according to the police report. Richard did not arrest Fox and chose to drive him home.
Fox emailed Wishart the next day, on Feb. 2, 2015, writing that he had driven after he “watched the Super Bowl and had a couple of beers.”
Fox wrote that he “probably should not have been driving,” but was stopped by an officer who “gave me a break very professional and drove me home.”
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.