Fox News reports that a San Diego County Sheriff’s Department Deputy was arrested on DUI charges after he blew through the security gate of Coronado Naval Base. Military Security officers opened fire on the deputy and ordered the base on lockdown.
The incident happened over the weekend when Sgt. Michael Cruz of the San Diego Sheriff’s Department drove without stopping through the entrance of Nava Air Station North Island. The air station is one of eight facilities that make up the Naval Base Coronado, located in the greater San Diego area.
Cruz was arrested on suspicion of DUI and booked into the San Diego Central Jail.
While no injuries were reported in the incident, the Coronado Police Department is investigating the incident in cooperation with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
Sgt. Cruz has been with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department since 2006. Immediately after the incident over the weekend, he was placed on administrative leave while the department’s Internal Affairs Division conducted an investigation.
The Navy is especially diligent about such issues after a separate incident when a motorist with bomb-making materials was stopped at the same gate in February 2022. While the materials were not attached to a device, military police detained the driver for questioning.