Video reveals new details on Coast police sergeant arrested on suspicion of DUI
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Gulfport sergeant arrested in Gatlinburg after activating lights and siren.
- Officers found open beer, moonshine pickles and a department firearm.
- Gulfport police placed him on leave while internal and legal probes proceed.
A Gulfport police sergeant arrested this week on suspicion of driving under the influence was stopped after officers in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, saw him activate blue lights and sirens in his unmarked police car, according to body camera footage.
The officers pulled over Joseph Prine Jr. around 10:22 p.m. Dec. 2. They found open beer cans in the car, the footage shows, along with an open jar of moonshine pickles.
The officers asked Prine why he activated his emergency lights and siren.
“To be honest with you,” Prine said, “we were just hitting the lights.”
Body camera footage and arrest reports obtained Thursday shed new light on Prine’s arrest on misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence, violating open container laws and carrying a weapon while under the influence.
The footage shows cars yielding to the Black Ford Explorer before Gatlinburg police officers pulled Prine over. Gatlinburg police officer Ryan Myers wrote in an arrest report that he believed Prine “intended to abuse his power as a police officer.”
“If he was only hitting his lights, he wouldn’t have left the lights on for so long or passed the other vehicles,” the report says.
Prine declined to comment on Friday and did not provide the name of his attorney.
Gulfport Police Chief Adam Cooper said Prine is on personal leave while the department investigates his arrest. The department said Prine was attending training in Tennessee.
“It is a personnel matter, and we are investigating,” Lt. Jason DuCré, a department spokesperson, said this week.
Video details Gulfport sergeant’s arrest
The footage shows Prine, 33, deactivated the emergency lights as he neared a Gatlinburg police car. The officers pulled him over and began questioning him in a parking lot.
Officers smelled alcohol in the car and saw an open Busch beer can in the center cupholder, Myers wrote in the arrest report. The report also says Prine’s speech was slurred.
Prine failed a field sobriety test.
He first told officers he drank two Michelob Ultras at “Jason Aldean’s bar,” according to the footage. Several minutes later, when pressed by an officer, Prine said he drank “three or four.”
A Pass Christian firefighter with Prine at the time was cited for disturbing the peace after he admitted he was too intoxicated to drive.
Officers assured the firefighter that the citation would not be automatically reported to the fire department.
Pass Christian Fire Chief Dia’Mond Woodman said Friday that the firefighter was a passenger in the car and off-duty while he attended training in Gatlinburg.
“We’re aware of the situation. He informed us as soon as he could,” Woodman said. “We’re looking into it, and because it’s a personnel matter there’s nothing more I can say about it right now.”
The video shows Prine and the unnamed firefighter telling Gatlinburg officers that the open beer cans in the car were from the previous day. Officers disputed the claim, saying the cans were still cold.
The officers found a department-issued gun in the car’s center console and Prine’s badge and credentials in his wallet, according to the footage. A Gatlinburg police sergeant notified the Gulfport Police Department of the arrest Tuesday night.
Gatlinburg officers at the scene considered whether Prine could be charged with impersonating a police officer since the video showed him using emergency lights outside his jurisdiction. He was ultimately held on a $4,000 bond on the DUI charge and released Wednesday afternoon.
Prine graduated from the Harrison County Law Enforcement Training Academy in 2015, according to a Facebook post by the Gulfport Police Department. The mayor’s office recognized him in April 2022 for his service as a detective.
The police department promoted him in January 2024.
This story was originally published December 5, 2025 at 11:59 AM.
