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Norwalk police officer arrested on DWI charge in North Carolina

February 19, 2026
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Ashley RK Smith

NORWALK, Conn. — A Norwalk police officer was arrested Feb. 15 in New Hanover County, North Carolina, on a charge of driving while impaired, according to booking records and local authorities.

Officer Mark Suda, 54, was charged with driving while impaired (DWI) and failure to maintain lane control. Driving while impaired is North Carolina’s term for Driving Under the Influence (DUI). The DWI charge carries a $1,500 unsecured bond, according to booking records.

Failure to maintain lane control refers under North Carolina law to a vehicle crossing outside its designated lane markings.

In a statement released Monday, Norwalk Police Chief James Walsh said he was informed of the arrest on Sunday.

“The alleged conduct is serious and does not reflect the standards, values, or expectations of the Norwalk Police Department,” Walsh said.

Suda has been placed on administrative restricted duty pending the outcome of the criminal case, and an internal investigation, and a disciplinary process, Walsh said.

“As Chief of Police, I want to be clear that no one in this department is above the law,” Walsh said. “We hold our officers to the highest ethical and professional standards. When those standards are violated, we take swift and appropriate action.”

No further details were released due to the ongoing nature of the case.

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Comments

7 responses to “Norwalk police officer arrested on DWI charge in North Carolina”

  1. John O’Neill

    While I don’t condone Officer Suda’s DUI, I question why this is a front page story. In my opinion, if we hold Police Officers to a higher standard than shouldn’t we be
    holding our elected officials to a similar standard. There are a number of past and present issues legally / civilly with some of our current elected politicians. Should journalists also pursue those cases to shine the light on them as we’ve done here with Officer Suda ?
    If NON needs any help with the research, I’d be more than happy to provide background.
    Why do we use Police Officers as Dart Boards ?

    1. Bryan Meek

      Because our over staffed city hall has nothing better to do, like tell us recycling was on normal schedule this week. They did get the word out about the mayors ball, however.

    2. Peter Marino

      But how would a newsroom not report this? A DUI involving a veteran police officer is, by any standard, a newsworthy event. His affiliation with the RTC might be what your getting at but when someone in a position of public trust is arrested, it’s going to draw attention, and it’s hard to justify ignoring it – gotta be fair, John.

      That said, the larger point is: if we’re holding officers to a higher standard, the same level of scrutiny should apply to elected officials. Consistency matters, not selective spotlighting.

      1. David Muccigrosso

        Police officers uphold the law; politicians simply MAKE the law. IMO that means officers SHOULD be held to a higher standard — the highest.

        We don’t give politicians badges and guns and a bunch of legal protections amounting to a license to kill. We DO give those things to officers. If they can’t obey one of the most basic laws — don’t drive drunk — then how can we expect them to, say, not be drunk on the job?

        If a politician is drunk on the job, they slosh their way through a city council meeting and hold up some public business. It’s bad, but recoverable.

        If a cop is drunk on the job, people can die. You can’t recover from that. Not to mention, drunk driving itself ALSO endangers lives.

        1. John O’Neill

          It should be clear he was not on the job, so not sure why you made that point.
          Based on your logic we should post every teacher with similar infractions. They after all
          are role models for young developing minds.
          What about Doctors who we put our full trust in?
          The list can go on and on…But there are many around who enjoy seeing any wrongdoing by any
          cop publicly shamed.

  2. Tysen Canevari

    Yes while i agree that it is newsworthy we need to appreciate that this is a 30 year veteran of the police force. We can only dream of the stuff they see on a day to day basis. He made a mistake and I am sure Mark is aware of that. We crucified Hector Delgado as well when he received a DUI. Chief Walsh is running a good department and we need to let the process move forward.

  3. Liz Conti

    Just so everyone is clear on the arrest of Mark Suda in NC for DUI. He will need to accept his own misfortune here, however, his work in Norwalk, Ct as an officer for 32 years is decorated and with much merit regarding law enforcement.

    Those among us with no sin should cast the first stone….

    Of course it is agreed that Chief Walsh should absolutely treat this as it should be administratively, let’s not make this the only thing we attribute to Officer Suda’s otherwise exemplary record of service.

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