Former Elkhart Police Chief Laura Koch will not serve any time in jail after pleading guilty to a drunk driving charge.
Instead, Koch will serve one year of probation and will have her driver’s license suspended for a month after she was found driving while intoxicated on County Road 17 in early April.
Koch, 53, was the chief of the Elkhart Police Department from late 2014 through 2016. A department spokeswoman on Monday said Koch is currently employed on the police force as a civilian records manager.
Per court documents, Koch pleaded guilty on April 30 to driving while intoxicated as a misdemeanor. She was pulled over on April 8 but an Indiana State Trooper on County Road 17 near Hoffman Street because she was swerving.
The documents say Koch failed multiple sobriety tests and didn’t blow fully enough to register on a breathalyzer.
Koch’s DUI charge came with a maximum possible sentence of one year in jail, though it’s unusual for someone without a criminal record to see jail time on a misdemeanor charge. She will also have to pay a $200 fine.
Koch first joined the Elkhart Police Department in 2002 as a patrol officer.
