Officer on leave for OVI charge suspended twice before for alcohol related incidents

A Springfield police officer on administrative leave after being charged with OVI last month had previously been suspended by the department for an earlier alcohol-related arrest and a hit-and-run crash, personnel records show.

Joseph Robinson, 40, of Springfield was pulled over by state troopers in the area of McCreight Avenue and East Limestone Street around 1:45 a.m. April 23, records show.

Body camera footage from the traffic stopped was obtained Wednesday through a public records request by News Center 7.

He’s charged with OVI and a traffic violation for driving left of center on the road, troopers and court records read.

In 2019, Robinson was charged with OVI after he was accused of running a red light on Fountain Avenue. He ended up pleading guilty to physical control and the OVI charge was dropped.

An internal investigation into the 2019 arrest led to Robinson being suspended for three days without pay.

“I share Chief Graf’s concerns regarding the seriousness of this misconduct. At the same time, I am pleased to hear of your follow through regarding the diversion program,” said Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck in a letter to Robinson in July 2021, nearly two years after the 2019 charges. “You are hereby cautioned and advised that any further misconduct on your part will lead to the imposition of more serious disciplinary action.”

The 2019 investigation by the city said that even though the exact measure of alcohol that Robinson was under was never determined, “this plea on his part confirms that this was an alcohol-related incident,” city disciplinary records show.

Several years prior in 2012, Robinson was suspended for a day without pay after he failed to report a crash he was involved in on Villa Road after stopping at “three different liquor permit establishment consuming three beers, three shots of liquor and one mixed drink,” city records showed.

Robinson’s vehicle ended up being found abandoned in an alley in the 1400 block of Mason Street after the crash. He was not on duty at the time of the crash and was cited for operating a vehicle unsafe, online records show.
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