FISHERS, Ind. -- The Fishers Police Department is deep in a public relations nightmare after an officer gave a ride home instead of a trip to jail to a high school principal who was stopped on suspicion of drunken driving.

Police admitted Friday they now have a credibility problem with the community, many of whom believe their get tough message about drinking and driving seemingly doesn't apply to everyone, as illustrated by what happened on Dec. 22, 6News' Jack Rinehart reported.

---

Slideshow: See Surveillance Images
Sound Off In Our Forum

---

Scott Syverson, principal at Fishers High School, couldn't say his ABCs and couldn't count backward. He flunked every roadside sobriety test Officer Kevin Kobli administered when he was pulled over after bumping his car into curbs near 96th Street and Allisonville Road at about 1:10 a.m. Saturday, Rinehart reported.

Kobli's in-car camera captured the traffic stop, in which Syverson stumbled and argued with the officer.

Syverson had attended a party at the home of Hamilton Southeastern Superintendent Dr. Concetta Raimondi. Police said Syverson's blood-alcohol level registered a 0.18 percent in a portable breath test.

"The officer then makes a decision whether or not to arrest. He made that decision to take him home on his own," said Fishers police Sgt. Gerry Hepp. "He regrets that decision. He knows it was a mistake, but we're going to learn from that."

Syverson told police that he had consumed five beers and then asked Kobli if he could just follow him home.

"I passed all the tests," Syverson said, to which Kobli replied: "You failed all the tests horribly. You are double, almost triple the legal limit."

News of Syverson's traffic stop and ride home angered many Fishers residents.

"I'm disappointed. Some action should be taken. I'm sure it will be," one woman said.

"They should have taken him to jail and processed him just like they would have you, me or anybody else," one man said. "I've never been offered a ride home."

The police department is now reviewing its policies and procedures relative to drunken driving arrests.

"We know that it contradicts the message that we have, and we know that it will take time to rebuild that confidence in the community," Hepp said.

Although Syverson was not arrested, he could still face charges. The department said it has probable cause from the traffic stop and in-car camera to present a case of driving while impaired or public intoxication to the prosecutor.

Syverson was named administrator of the year by the Indiana High School Press Association this year. He became principal at Fishers High School in 2004.

Neither Syverson nor Raimondi could be reached for comment on Friday.