SACO — A police sergeant with nearly two decades of service with the Saco Police Department remains on unpaid leave from his job following his arrest earlier this month on a drunk driving charge in Arundel.

Sgt. Daniel Beaulieu, 41, of Limerick was charged with Class D misdemeanor OUI by York County Sheriff ’s Office deputies at 12:15 a.m. Sept. 5, after he was pulled over on Mountain Road for erratic driving in his personal vehicle. He was taken to York County Jail, where an Intoxilyzer breath test was administered, and he was then released on personal recognizance bail, according to York County Sheriff Bill King in a statement issued Wednesday.

Saco Police Chief Bradley Paul said Beaulieu was placed on administrative leave for a day following the incident and then on unpaid leave, an action available under the department’s policies and procedures when an individual is charged with a criminal offense.

The unpaid leave is not punitive or a judgment, Paul said in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon. He said an administrative investigation will be conducted.

“In the meantime, until there is greater clarity, his leave status will remain (as it is),” Paul said.

Beaulieu joined the Saco Police Department in November 1996. He was promoted to corporal in 2002 and to sergeant in 2012. Paul said the sergeant’s duties include supervising a corporal and six patrol officers that make up the overnight shift. This is the first incident of its kind involving the veteran officer, Paul said.

Beaulieu and several others were recognized in March by the Saco City Council for their efforts to save a woman who had fallen into the Saco River the previous October.

Pail noted that Beaulieu has been recognized for other life-saving rescues, including his role in a 2011 river rescue of a suicidal man and for a rescue that took place around 2000. In January 2014, he was the recipient of a meritorious service award by the Maine Association of Police.

Beaulieu is scheduled to appear at Springvale District Court Oct. 27. Usually incidents alleged to have taken place in Arundel would be assigned to Biddeford District Court, but King said authorities felt it was best to make the change because Saco cases are regularly heard at the Biddeford court.

Upon conviction, a Class D OUI charge carries penalties that include a fine of not less than $500, a 150-day driver’s license suspension, and depending on the level of intoxication, not less than 48 hours in jail.

King declined to release the results of the breath test.

Paul said he is unable to comment further on the matter. Beaulieu could not be reached for comment; no telephone listing was available.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].