FISHERS, Ind. -- Indiana University’s emergency management director was arrested Thursday morning after a Hamilton County sheriff’s deputy allegedly found her passed out behind the wheel of a running car.
According to an incident report filed by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department, Diane Morris-Mack, 44, was arrested shortly before 2:30 a.m. on suspicion of OWI after she was found asleep in the driver’s seat of a running vehicle in the middle of 96th Street in Fishers.
The deputy reported that Mack had slurred speech and bloodshot, glassy eyes and appeared to have vomit on her shirt and pants.
Mack allegedly told the deputy she’d had two beers at a location on 82nd Street and was returning home.
The deputy reported that Mack was unable to recite the alphabet from C to N and was unable to count backwards.
According to an affidavit filed in the case, a portable breath test determined she had a BAC of .171 at the time of her arrest – more than twice the legal limit. A certified chemical test performed at the Hamilton County Jail registered her BAC at .155.
Following her arrest, Mack was transported to the Hamilton County Jail, where she was booked on preliminary charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person and operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent to .15 or more.
Police said there was no one else in the car at the time of the arrest.
Mack has served since 2010 as the system-wide director of emergency management and continuity for all eight Indiana University campuses.
In an emailed statement to RTV6, an Indiana University spokesman said Mack had been suspended without pay until further notice.
In addition to Mack's employment at IU, she also serves as an incident commander for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security’s Incident Management Assistance Team. In that role, Mack commanded the Indiana team deployed to Florida for Hurricane Matthew in 2016, during which she served as the deputy operations section chief.
Mack led Indiana teams in response to Hurricane Sandy and the Henryville tornado in 2012.
An IDHS spokeswoman said that Mack is not employed by the agency – only serving as an incident commander when IMAT is deployed to an emergency.
During the arrest the deputy also found a Lawrence Police Department badge in the vehicle. Mack recently joined the Lawrence Police Department as a reserve deputy.
An IU spokesperson said Mack was suspended without pay until further notice.
Prior to being hired at IU, Mack served as assistant director of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and as the state’s deputy labor commissioner.
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