HPD Officer Arrested, Charged With DWI

HOUSTON, TX — A Houston Police officer who was seen weaving in and out of traffic on the Southwest Freeway Monday morning, has been relieved of duty, HPD officials said Wednesday.

Houston Police Officer Muzaffar Hassan Siddiqi, 56, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated outside of a Toyota dealership after his car erupted in flames.

Officials said Siddiqi may have been under the influence of medication when he struck a guard rail and was seen weaving on the Southwest Freeway on a flat tire on Monday.

A witness called police shortly before the fire and reported seeing a white Toyota Camry weaving on Interstate 69. The witness said the driver of the Camry was weaving near the Hillcroft exit and I-69 southbound, hit a guard railing and pulled onto the shoulder of the freeway.

The driver, later identified as Siddiqi, was seen pulling back onto the roadway with a flat tire and hitting the curb several times along the feeder road after exiting at Beechnut Road.

As Siddiqi pulled into the parking lot of the dealership, his car erupted in flames, the witness said.

Siddiqi, an HPD public affairs officer and a liaison to the south Asian community, told officers he was coming home from the police station downtown, and decided to go to the dealership for routine maintenance on his car.

Siddiqi, who according to police slurred his speech and was unsteady on his feet, told officers he recalled hitting the guard rail, but didn't recall driving on a flat tire or his car catching fire.

Officers found two pill containers with several different types of medications in Siddiqi's car, police said.

Siddiqi, an HPD veteran of more than 20 years, was relieved of duty pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

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Image: HPD

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