An LAPD lieutenant was charged Wednesday with two felonies after he was arrested by CHP officers for allegedly driving under the influence and causing a crash in the Santa Fe Springs area that caused injuries.
Matthew M. Ensley, 44, made an initial appearance on the charges in court in Bellflower Wednesday, pleaded not guilty and was released after posting a $100,000 bail bond, according to court records.
The LA County District Attorney's Office said prosecutors filed one count of driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage causing injury and one count of driving with a .08% blood alcohol content causing injury.
Court records showed the DA's office also filed enhancements that alleged, "bodily injury or death to more than one victim," and "driving with a .15% BAC or refusing to take chemical test."
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Neither Ensley nor the attorney who represented him in court could be immediately reached.
The LAPD said in a statement Ensley is currently employed as a lieutenant but referred questions about the arrest to the CHP.
LAPD and DUIs
According to jail records, Ensley was arrested late on the night of March 31 by officers from the CHP's Santa Fe Springs station following a rear-end collision on the 605 freeway.
A CHP spokesman told the I-Team Ensley was behind the wheel of an Audi A3 when he rear-ended a Toyota Camry in the northbound lanes near the Spring Street offramp.
The spokesman said Ensley was driving at an unsafe speed when the crash happened and his blood alcohol level tested at more than twice the legal limit.
Ensley was assigned to the LAPD's transit services division, according to officials, and was off duty at the time of the incident.
LAPD records show Ensley and another officer were involved in a gunfight with a man in 2009 while patrolling the Ramona Gardens housing complex in Boyle Heights.
At least 22 LAPD officers have been punished for driving while intoxicated since January 2023, including two officers who were fired and two others who resigned, according to the department's public disciplinary disclosures.
