Former Unite Official Charged with DUI

Daniel J. Smoot, 65, of London, was arrested on July 25 by officers with the London Police Department and charged with one count of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence.

Smoot, formerly of Breathitt County, served many years as an official with Operation Unite and an officer for the Kentucky State Police.  

He was serving as the Chief of Police for the Laurel County School District.  The district announced that Smoot was no longer employed as of July 26.

The arresting officers reported that Smoot “was slurring his words, had bloodshot and glassy eyes.”  A “smell of alcohol” was also reported inside his car.  The arresting officers indicated that Smoot was unsteady on his feet when he exited his vehicle during the traffic stop and later became “non-compliant” with verbal instructions during field sobriety tests.

According to the arrest citation, Smoot’s blood alcohol level was .247 after an intoxilyzer test.  Under Kentucky law, that is three times the legal alcohol limit.

Smoot has a long and distinguished law enforcement career in the mountains of eastern Kentucky.  After he graduated from Eastern Kentucky University and the Kentucky State Police Academy, he was assigned to Post 13 in Hazard.  He served for more than 22 years as a trooper and detective in the narcotics division for fourteen years.  He joined Operation UNITE in 2001 as one of its first officers.  In 2003, he became the head of the Law Enforcement Division of UNITE.

In 2013, Smoot was named the President and Chief Executive Officer of UNITE, a position he held for two years.  In 2015, he joined the Appalachia HIDTA (High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) task force.  After retirement, he accepted a position as the Chief of Police for the Laurel County School system.

Smoot will appear in Laurel District Court to answer the charge against him.