Jacksonville firefighter arrested on 2nd DUI charge

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – A Jacksonville district fire chief was arrested Thursday in Clay County on his second DUI charge in just over three months.

According to a Clay County Sheriff's Office report, Jason Tidwell, 44, was found slumped over in the driver's seat of his car alongside State Road 16 just east of State Road 21. The car was pulled off to the right side of the highway and was still running.

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The report said Tidwell was slumped over the center console and woke up when a Clay County Sheriff's Office deputy knocked on the window.

The investigating deputy wrote in the report that there was a strong odor of alcohol coming from Tidwell. And that he had trouble finding his wallet, which was in the cup holder of the car.

He refused field sobriety tests and breathalyzers and had to be helped back to the deputy's patrol car. He was arrested on suspicion of DUI.

Tidwell was also arrested on DUI charges on Dec. 9, 2014, after he was found with his car stuck in a ditch on County Road 217.

A witness told deputies that Tidwell was driving in a reckless manner on Normandy Boulevard before turning onto C.R. 217 at a high speed, according to that report.

The investigating deputy wrote in the report that there was a strong odor of alcohol coming from Tidwell. According to the report, there was a large, open bottle of vodka wrapped in a plastic bag sitting in the passenger seat.

The witness said he lost sight of Tidwell's vehicle until he saw it stuck in the ditch, according to the report. 

The deputy said Tidwell failed a field sobriety test and was arrested. He provided two samples of his breath, with the results of 0.313 and 0.339, according to the report from December.

According to Jacksonville Fire-Rescue Tidwell had just completed his administrative leave from his December arrest and is now on unauthorized leave without pay.