A lieutenant with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office was fired early Sunday morning after she was charged with Driving Under the Influence.
- Pinellas lieutenant fired following DUI charge
- Christi Ruhtz, 41, had BAC of 0.14
- Ruhtz served for almost 20 years
Deputies were called to Wild Acres Road near 130th Avenue in Largo after neighbors alerted police to a disturbance outside.
When deputies arrived just before 2 a.m. they found Christi Ruhtz, 41, behind the wheel of a car honking the horn erratically while driving in reverse.
After not performing well in a field sobriety test, she refused to submit to a breathalyzer test. She later complied as part of an employment agreement with the agency, and reportedly had a blood alcohol content of 0.14. The legal limit to operate a car is 0.08.
Ruhtz is an almost 20 year veteran of the sheriff's office and was hired in December of 1998. She worked as a lieutenant in the public records processing unit.