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Pueblo County Sheriff’s Deputy placed on leave amid third DUI arrest

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- A Pueblo County Sheriff's Deputy was placed on leave after receiving being arrested for the third time for driving under the influence.

On June 5th, Pueblo County Sheriff's Deputy Daniel Claus, a detention deputy, was arrested for driving under the influence.

According to the Huerfano County Sheriff's office, Claus was arrested and was released a short time later on June 5th, 2021.

This incident was not the first DUI for Claus. In 2006, he was arrested for driving under the influence in El Paso County and Teller County.

He pled guilty in Teller County to driving under the influence in 2006 and pled guilty in El Paso County in 2007.

However, despite the numerous DUI's, Claus has only been placed on leave by the sheriff's office.

Jeremy Loew, a lawyer in Colorado Springs, and spoke to KRDO about his experience with DUI court proceedings.

"I have literally never seen somebody with three driving under the influence convictions ever keep their employment as a law enforcement officer," Loew said.

He went on to say it surprised him that a deputy in charge of upholding the law would violate it.

"It's really surprising that an individual with multiple DUI offenses would be on any kind of law enforcement unit," said Lowe. "Obviously, if you can't obey the law, you should probably not be trying to enforce the law as well. It seems a bit hypocritical."

The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office issued a statement to KRDO saying:

We took action immediately when we were contacted by Huerfano County. The deputy is on leave as we continue an investigation by our office and allow him due process

Pueblo County Sheriff's Office

According to Loew, a third DUI conviction would mean a mandatory 60 days in jail, as well as the revocation of a drivers license for a year. Additionally, a breathalyzer system would need to be installed in the defendant vehicle for the first 30 days.

He has already had a series of status conference hearings for the Huerfano County arrest. An additional status conference is scheduled for October 19th in Huerfano County.

The Sheriff's Office did not give a timetable on when Claus' leave will end. Claus has been a Pueblo County Sheriff's Deputy for four years.

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Sean Rice

Sean is reporter with the 13 Investigates team. Learn more about him here.

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