‘Very unsteady:’ Las Vegas officer suspected of DUI had to be held upright, says report

A Las Vegas police officer who was arrested last week on suspicion of DUI and for leading a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper on a brief high-speed chase had reeked of an “intoxicating beverage,” and was unable to stand upright on his own while in police custody, according to his arrest report.

Metropolitan Police Department officer Zachary Louis was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on Wednesday, according to a Highway Patrol arrest report obtained through court records. The report alleged Louis drove 85 mph in a 35 mph zone and said blood samples were collected for testing — but those results were not included in the arrest report.

Louis made an initial appearance in Las Vegas Justice Court on Thursday. He faces one felony count of disobeying a peace officer and eight misdemeanors including DUI, speeding, failure to maintain a travel lane, operating an unregistered and uninsured vehicle and other charges.

In a news release Friday, Metro said Louis would be placed on suspension of police powers with pay pending further investigation. Attempts to reach Louis through the attorney listed in his case file were not successful.

Court records show Louis is scheduled to appear again in court in November. Louis has been employed with Metro since 2020 and was assigned to the Community Safety Division at Northwest Area Command.

High-speed chase

According to Louis’ arrest report, a Highway Patrol trooper was on patrol on the 215 Beltway southbound near Cheyenne Avenue just after 10 p.m. when they saw a white Ram pickup failing to drive within the marked travel lanes. The pickup was seen drifting to the left and to the right “multiple times” before correcting back into the lane, police said.

The Highway Patrol trooper then did a records check on the truck’s registration, which returned expired as of 2023, according to the report. A stop was initiated after the trooper also saw no insurance listed in a search through state motor vehicle records.

The pickup reportedly started to pull over and exit onto Cheyenne, police said, but at the end of the off-ramp, the vehicle turned right to go northbound onto Cliff Shadows Parkway and accelerate away “at a high rate of speed.”

The Ram continued north on Cliff Shadows through a red light at the intersection of Novat Street and was still failing to maintain a single lane, police said. The trooper reported following behind and going 80 mph in a 35 mph zone for about a quarter-mile stretch before making an abrupt U-turn to go south on Cliff Shadows toward the 215 Beltway.

“Vehicle traffic and foot traffic was light in both directions,” the report stated. “(H)owever, the vehicle presented a clear and immediate safety threat to the rest of the motoring and pedestrian public by the reckless manner in which it was driving.”

The trooper began following behind the Ram again at 85 mph in the posted 35 mph zone, according to the report. The truck continued “back and forth” across marked travel lanes, “seemingly trying to stay in the right travel lane but going too fast to maintain the vehicle between the lane lines,” police said.

The truck then drove back eastbound on Cheyenne across the intersection of the 215 Beltway on-ramp against another red light, police said. It continued east then made a left turn onto Shadow Peak Street, going at least 60 mph in a 35 mph zone, according to one officer’s determination.

From Shadow Peak, the Ram turned left to begin heading west on Buckskin Avenue, police said. At the intersection of Buckskin and Shady Timber Street, Louis, the Ram’s driver, surrendered to the trooper and threw his keys out the window.

‘Inability to stand upright on his own’

Louis reportedly told the trooper he sped away and started the chase because he was “nervous” and because he was a police officer, according to the report. It said the trooper also noticed a “strong odor” of an alcoholic beverage coming from his person.

“The entire way to the jail, my patrol car was almost completely consumed by the odor of unknown intoxicating beverage coming from Louis’ person and I had to turn the air conditioning all the way up,” the report stated.

Police said Louis was speaking with slurred speech and had trouble standing up on his own, and could only maintain his balance by leaning against the truck.

“Louis was very unsteady on his feet, and I had to physically hold him upright the entire time to keep him from falling over,” according to the report. “Due to the dynamic reckless nature of the pursuit and Louis’ inability to stand upright on his own, no field sobriety tests were performed.”

Louis was then advised of his arrest and transported to the Clark County Detention Center for booking, police said. According to the report, Louis consented to having two vials of blood collected for testing, though the results were not included in the report.

Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X or @casey-harrison.bsky.social on Bluesky.