An off-duty Pierce County sheriff’s deputy found passed out behind the wheel of a running car was charged Friday with drunken driving.

Charging documents filed in District Court say Jeffrey Douglas Fleig, 53, registered a 0.18 reading on a blood-alcohol breath test after he was stopped early Monday. The legal limit in Washington is 0.08.

Another sheriff’s deputy spotted Fleig about 2:30 a.m. in the 1400 block of 85th Street East, near Dawson Playfield, records state. The car Fleig was driving blocked the southbound lane.

The deputy drove past in the opposite direction, noticed the car wasn’t moving, and circled back. Fleig was behind the wheel, unconscious, his foot on the brake, records state. The car was in gear.

The deputy “had a difficult time waking the defendant,” records state. “The defendant finally awoke, but was fairly incoherent. The defendant stated he had too much to drink.”

Fleig had a hard time standing, according to the records. A deputy had to hold him upright.

Fleig “demonstrated six of six clues on the horizontal gaze nystagmus test,” records state, referring to a field sobriety test that measures visual reaction to a held finger or pen light.

He has been placed on paid administrative leave, pending an internal investigation, sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said Friday.

Fleig is a 23-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department. Troyer said he did not know whether Fleig’s prior record included similar incidents.

A survey of court records shows Fleig was cited for drunken driving in 2002 in Pierce County. He received a deferred sentence, stipulating no further violations for five years. Records indicate he met the standard. The charge was dismissed in October 2007.

Sean Robinson: 253-597-8486