Police: Darien Woman Drove Intoxicated, Fought with Cops

A 27-year-old Darien woman drove while intoxicated, crashed on a lawn, cursed and kicked at police arresting her and later bit one officer on his right elbow, police said.

Before she was put in a patrol car, the woman also tore off her shirt and threw it at a female police officer, according to a police report, which noted that this was her third arrest on a charge of driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Darien police gave this account (an accusation not proven in court) of the incident and arrest:

At 8:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 14, police received a report of a car being driven by a driver who was possibly intoxicated driving west on the Post Road near the Darien YMCA.

A police officer looking for the vehicle on Brookside Road was approached by a woman who said a car had gotten into an accident in her front yard on Hollow Tree Ridge Road not far from the Post Road.

Police arrived at the scent to see a 2005 Subaru Legacy resting in the front yard with its nose down. Police think the car may have been traveling north on Hollow Tree Ridge Road when it abruptly turned left and hurtled down a small embankment.

A witness told police that when the driver got out of the vehicle, a beer bottle fell out, as well. Police saw a bottle of Golden Monkey beer outside the vehicle and a sixpack of the same brand inside, with one bottle missing.

The driver and police

The driver, Allison Richards, 27, of Fairfield Avenue, appeared to police to be intoxicated since was swaying when she stood, smelled of alcohol and was slurring her words.

She told police she had been to Lord & Taylor in Stamford, had dropped off her son at home and then had started drinking, then somehow wound up at the spot where police found her.

Richards discussion with police at some point became hostile. She swore at the officers. She took off her shirt and threw it at a female police officer. Officers began subduing her and she began to fight and thrash, kicking the officers and trying to punch the female officer.

To the police station and court

When she was put in the patrol car, she screamed and kicked at the plastic partition and bars protecting the rear passenger windows. At police headquarters, she refused to get out of the patrol vehicle at first.

She continued screaming at the top of her lungs. While officers tried to restrain her in the arrest booking area, she bit an officer's right elbow. She refused to leave the booking area and had to be carried into her cell.

Richards was charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol, failure to signal a turn, assault on a police officer, second-degree breach of peace and resisting arrest. Her bond was set at $2,500, which she did not immediately post. She is scheduled to appear Friday, Aug. 23, in state Superior Court in Stamford.