Lorain police officer current on restitution payments to city following April crash

LORAIN — A Lorain police officer who crashed his patrol vehicle after work in April has paid about $1,000 of the more than $15,000 he owes in restitution. Officer Eric Rivera crashed his cruiser, a 2020 Dodge Charger, into two parked vehicles and a shed off Long Avenue and West Ninth Street shortly before 11 p.m. April 17. He agreed to pay $15,691 in damages and was demoted to patrol officer. An internal investigation of the crash found Rivera had fallen asleep behind the wheel after being awake for about 21 hours straight. Many Lorain police officers worked 12.5-hour shifts, including Rivera, at the time of the crash. He told investigators he had awakened at 1:30 a.m. that morning and was unable to go back to sleep, so he worked out from about 2:30 a.m. to 4 a.m., then reported for duty at 5 a.m. He worked until 5:30 p.m., then attended a reception at the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 3 hall until about 10:40 p.m. While at the hall, Rivera reported drinking two mixed drinks, but said he stopped drinking about three hours before he went home. He crashed his cruiser at 10:52 p.m., left the scene of the crash, drove the vehicle home and parked it in his barn. He contacted Capt. AJ Mathewson and, shortly after the phone call, said he drank an indeterminate amount of vodka to cope with the gravity of the situation he found himself in, according to the report. Lt. Jamie Ball came to Rivera's home and took the officer to Mercy Health - Lorain for a urine and breath test. Ball told investigators that Rivera did not appear intoxicated, but was clearly tired. The internal investigation found Rivera's blood-alcohol content at the time of his crash was, at most, about 0.023 percent, which is below the legal limit. His BAC, when tested by Mercy Health, was at its highest, 0.138 percent at shortly before 1:30 a.m. April 18. The Office of Professional Standards report said Rivera was not intoxicated at the time of the crash, but found his alcohol consumption when he got home muddled the evidence. An agreement to pay the restitution in 48 monthly installments was signed in late July. Deputy Auditor Anita Harper confirmed that her department had received three checks totaling just over $980 from Rivera. She said the Police secretary was out of office and assumed he had paid for November but that it was not entered into the city's system yet. Along with his demotion, Rivera was suspended for 30 days. He is also ineligible for any promotional tests for the next three years. If Rivera leaves the department or is terminated before paying the full $15,691 back to the city, the remaining balance would be deducted from his accrued time off and any other earnings, according to the agreement. Rivera also pleaded no contest to a reckless operation charge in Lorain Municipal Court as a result of the crash. A failure to control charge was dismissed on Oct. 2. He paid a $200 fine and had a 30-day jail sentence suspended. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.