Anchorman actor David Koechner arrested for suspected drunk driving for the second time in 5 months

Koechner was previously arrested on a DUI charge in California.

By
Sydney Bucksbaum
Sydney Bucksbaum
Sydney Bucksbaum

Sydney Bucksbaum is a writer at Entertainment Weekly covering all things pop culture – but TV is her one true love. She currently lives in Los Angeles but grew up in Chicago so please don't make fun of her accent when it slips out.

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Published on June 15, 2022 05:42PM EDT

Actor and comedian David Koechner was recently arrested for suspected drunk driving for the second time in five months.

The Anchorman and The Office star was pulled over June 4 at 1:47 a.m. by Ohio State Highway Patrol officers in Lawrence County and taken into custody, according to an arrest record obtained by EW from the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Officers noted that Koechner was "OVI," or "operating a vehicle while impaired… under the influence of alcohol/drug of abuse," but refused to be tested for blood-alcohol concentration. He is scheduled to appear in Lawrence Municipal Court for a hearing July 8.

In bodycam footage from the incident provided to EW (above), one officer can be seen telling another that he could "smell alcohol when [he] walked up to [Koechner's] car," and an officer can be heard saying, "Oh God, I can smell it from here." Koechner allegedly told an officer he was on his way "to Comic-Con in West Virginia," and that he'd only had "one beer" before failing several field sobriety tests.

Representatives for Koechner did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.

David Koechner
David Koechner. Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images

This is Koechner's second such run-in with the law in recent months. On New Year's Eve, he allegedly hit a street sign with his car in Simi Valley, Calif., and was arrested on a DUI charge. His estranged wife, Leigh Koechner, subsequently requested that his visitation with their children be suspended as a result, and asked for "safeguards" to be put in place to ensure his sobriety, including submitting to drug testing and using a device to monitor his drinking. David Koechner said in documents obtained by PEOPLE that he still hoped to continue to split custody of their children.

"My recent stop for an alleged DUI did not occur with any of our children in my custody," he wrote. "I am in AA and have a sponsor and I would never do anything to jeopardize the health and safety of our children."

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