LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A drunken-driving case against a San Diego police detective has grown into a criminal investigation involving four other officers called to the scene that night before a formal investigation was launched.
U-T San Diego reports that the broader probe came to light at a Tuesday court hearing for Detective Jeffrey Blackford when prosecutors asked the judge to compel the San Diego Police Department to turn over internal-affairs files.
Blackford is an 11-year department veteran assigned to the gang unit. He's pleaded not guilty to drunken driving charges after crashing his city-owned car into a roadside utility box early Dec. 7.
According to a court filing, Blackford did not immediately report the accident. Instead he called two off-duty friends to the scene and two more officers were called later.
