John Calkins, 55, has been police chief since at least 2000 in the city that straddles south King and north Pierce counties. He was arrested by Bonney Lake police officers shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday.

Pacific Mayor Rich Hildreth said Wednesday that Calkins told him he didn’t want to cast a bad light on his department while the case went forward. Hildreth said Calkins has a month of paid leave coming.

Calkins couldn’t be reached for comment.

Hildreth said Lt. Edwin Massey will be in charge of the police force while the chief is on leave.

Bonney Lake police were responding to a complaint of a driver veering in and out of his lane on Highway 410 between Bonney Lake and Buckley, according to a Bonney Lake police news release Wednesday.

Police said the driver identified himself as the Pacific police chief. Calkins, who was in the car with his wife, was taken to the Bonney Lake Police Department, cited on suspicion of driving under the influence, and released after promising to appear in Municipal Court for arraignment at a later date, according to police.

Hildreth said Calkins called him at home about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday to inform him of the incident.

The mayor said his review of the Bonney Lake police report and his conversations with Calkins raise questions about the arrest.

“I personally think it will be tossed out,” Hildreth said, adding that Calkins will remain police chief until the courts make a ruling.

Hildreth said the police reports do not indicate that the two Bonney Lake officers saw Calkins driving erratically before they stopped him.

Calkins told the officers that he’d had a couple of beers after a softball game, Hildreth said, adding that the officers reported a moderate smell of alcohol but that they said the driver did not appear impaired.

No field sobriety test was conducted, Hildreth said.

The attempt to use a breathalyzer also raises unusual issues.

Calkins, a cancer survivor, speaks with a voice box through an opening in his throat. This makes it difficult to generate breath through his mouth.

The police report indicated that Calkins tried five times to blow into the breathalyzer and was unable to create enough of a sample.

Calkins told the mayor that he explained to the officers that they could get a conclusive sample if they used the hole in his neck, but they declined.

The police chief is certified in using a breathalyzer and has trained Pacific police officers in how to administer a test that way, the mayor said.

Calkins declined the officers’ invitation to take a blood alcohol test.

Bonney Lake police declined comment on the use of the breathalyzer.

Calkins retired from the Auburn Police Department before being hired by Pacific. He served as Pacific’s public safety director, supervising both the Police and Fire departments, until the Fire Department merged into the Valley Regional Fire Authority at the beginning of 2007.

Mike Archbold: 253-597-8692