Del. alcohol official charged with DUI

The director of the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco was arrested for DUI near Lewes.

Part of the Delaware Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement’s mission, according to its website, is “saving lives by enforcing Delaware’s alcohol and tobacco laws.”

Early Thursday morning the head of that agency was arrested for drunken driving.

Secretary of Safety and Homeland Security Lewis Schiliro announced Thursday that Siobahn Sullivan, director of the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement, was stopped for a traffic violation and subsequently charged with driving under the influence (DUI).

“Unfortunately there are over 6,000 people a year arrested in the state for suspicion of DUI,” Schiliro said. “This was an unfortunate case where one of those people turned out to be, last night, Siobahn Sullivan who does head that unit.”

Delaware State Police stopped the vehicle Sullivan, 45, was operating on Route 1 near Lewes. She was released pending arraignment at a later date.

Part of the agency’s mission statement on the DATE website, is “To protect the health, safety and welfare of people in Delaware through the enforcement of state liquor and youth access to tobacco laws.”

The Division also lists as its four core values to be “integrity, fairness, competency and accountability.”

“Certainly those goals and things that we stand for are as valid today as they were yesterday,” Schiliro said.

Sullivan, of Lewes, has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending further review.