How did a postal carrier recently arrested for drunk driving in a postal truck, still have a job? That’s what KRQE News 13 started asking after looking into his driving history. 

Kevin Brown, 28, is the postal worker who police say drove drunk in his postal truck and hit another truck in a family’s front yard. He told officers he was avoiding a rock.

“You smell like vodka and that’s exactly what’s in here,” said one of the Rio Rancho police officers in lapel video. 

When officers conducted a field sobriety test, Brown didn’t know his right from left. 

“You know what’s kind of scary, you’re driving a vehicle around and you don’t know left from right,” said the officer. 

People across the metro had the same concerns. Not only was this Brown’s second DWI according to police, but his driving record shows he’s been cited five times since 2009 for everything from careless driving to speeding. In some cases, he was driving more than 20 miles over the limit. 

“One of the main things that the post office and us totally agree on is safety,” said Robert Fogle.  

Fogle is the Vice President of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 504. He said there is a background check for new hires which looks at the last five years of their record. DWI convictions mean they won’t be hired, and there are stipulations for careless driving and even speeding tickets. 

“If they do find something that is further than five years old, then the postmaster of the installation will kind of look at the whole thing and the whole picture and decide whether he wants to hire them on or not,” said Fogle. 

Two of Brown’s three speeding tickets were within three years of his April 2017 hiring date, and one of his careless driving charges was within the five years.  

KRQE News 13 hasn’t been able to confirm when his prior DWI arrest was, or if he was convicted.

Records show that for Brown’s second careless driving charge, a judge ordered him to attend aggravated driver instructor school.

KRQE News 13 reached out to the Postal Service to see if they knew about Brown’s driving record, but did not hear back.