Wife of drunken driver reports husband to police

The Wauwatosa Police Department often receives calls from people complaining about drunken drivers on city streets. But on Friday afternoon, the tip came from the intoxicated driver's own car.

According to the police report:

The Wauwatosa man's wife and 16-year-old son were in the car as the man, who had a blood-alcohol content nearly four times the amount a driver is allowed by law, recklessly drove around the city. The man's wife called police to report the reckless driving.

At 2:50 p.m., officers arrived at Wauwatosa Avenue and Clarke Street to find the 45-year-old father lying on the ground outside his car and his wife and son sitting in the car. Nearby, Roosevelt Elementary School was letting out, and the area was filled with parents driving cars to pick up their children.

His BAC was 0.30. His wife said he had drunk a pint of vodka and that he had been a "functioning alcoholic" for 22 years.

This was not the first time he had driven drunk with his wife in the car.

The family was on its way to a gathering in Delavan, but when officers asked the man where he was going, he didn't even remember he had been driving.