Christopher Kohrs, known as the ‘Hot Cop of the Castro,’ has been arrested in San Francisco. He allegedly fled from a hit-and-run incident, while off duty, after knocking over two men.
Police are now investigating whether the 38-year-old was driving under the influence after his Dodge Charger allegedly slammed into two males in the North Beach area of the city. Instead of stopping to check on the men’s welfare, Kohrs reportedly abandoned his car and fled the scene of the crime.
The two men, both in their 40s, were taken to hospital after suffering serious injuries, but are now in a stable condition and are expected to survive.
While becoming an internet star for his good looks certainly has had its benefits for Kohrs, it was to prove his downfall on this occasion, as he was instantly recognized and was later arrested by police.
“Hot cop or not, this is a situation where the individual panicked because he knew he would lose his job,” Ray Lewis, a retired Philadelphia police captain told RT. “At 2:30 in the morning, running over two people, and there was a high chance he was intoxicated - if so, he is going to lose his job and he made a split decision,” he added.
The 38-year-old rose to fame in San Francisco after numerous people stopped to have their photograph taken with him due to his good looks. The images were posted on social media, where his popularity increased, leading him to be known as the ‘Hot Cop of Castro,’ named after the San Francisco district he patrolled.
A Facebook page was even set up in his honor, which had gathered more than 50,000 likes. However, it was taken down on Monday after the cop went from hero to zero.
Kohrs is just the latest example of celebrated police officers turning out to have a dark side.
Eric Casebolt resigned in disgrace earlier this year after he wrestled a black teenage girl to the ground at a pool party in Texas and drew his gun on other teens in the vicinity. It later emerged that Casebolt had been voted McKinney officer of the year in 2008.
“This police attitude of ‘I’m the boss, the law is what I say it is, the physicality first, talk later,’ is not going to change,” said Lewis, speaking to RT. “The critical factor in addressing police abuse and corruption and brutality, is that you have to start hiring the right type of personality that fits this job.”
Lewis, who has a wealth of experience as a retired captain of the Philadelphia police, says that the standards of law enforcement will not improve in the US until the selection process is improved and gets away from the type of people who think with their fists first, before using their heads.
“They hire the people that have ‘John Wayne’ attributes. You cannot blame an individual who scores high on ‘John Wayne syndrome,’ with perhaps being rough and tough and brutal on the job. You are asking for that and you are the one responsible for that if you hire that,” Lewis concluded.