North Pole school bus driver arrested for DUI, firearm possession
Driver immediately suspended by school system
NORTH POLE, Alaska (KTUU) - Alaska State Troopers arrested a North Pole school bus driver on Thursday for driving under the influence of drugs and possessing two loaded firearms while driving the bus.
Troopers say no children were on the bus or involved with the arrest.
Ana Lam with school bus transportation at Durham School Services told Alaska’s News Source on Tuesday that the safety of the students remains their top priority.
“The safety of the students we transport is our top priority. When we learned of the arrest of Lawrence Dunlap, he was immediately suspended, meaning he was removed from service and is no longer driving a bus,” Lam said.
Lam explained that when they started the hiring process for Dunlap in August 2024, he passed all DOT testing, which included a drug screening and background check. Durham School Services is continuing to investigate and is fully cooperating with authorities, Lam said.
According to court documents, troopers received four calls around 1:43 p.m. on Thursday reporting that a school bus was “driving erratically, crossing over the road, and swerving between lanes on the Richardson Highway.”
An officer responded and pulled over the bus driver, 24-year-old Lawrence Dunlap, who was driving an empty school bus. The trooper stated in the court documents that Dunlap was experiencing mood swings and angrily threatening the officer, then a moment later acted calm and respectful.
The trooper collected a breath sample from Dunlap, which was .000%. Dunlap could not tell the officer how he picked up the bus and explained that he did not mean to turn onto Badger Road and that he was on his way to pick up students from North Pole High School — which Dunlap’s supervisors confirmed after the officer spoke with them.
However, Dunlap was headed in the opposite direction of North Pole High School. The officer noted in the court documents that Dunlap would often laugh randomly, and when the trooper asked if he was under the influence of any drugs, Dunlap denied it.
The court documents state that a trained AST Drug Recognition Expert responded and continued to investigate Dunlap for a suspected DUI. Dunlap refused all drug tests, but given the other signs observed, such as goosebumps on Dunlap’s arms, mood swings, very fast speech, and inability to stay still — among other factors — the trooper concluded he was under the influence of an “upper or hallucinogen.”
Subsequently, Dunlap was charged with a DUI, and while officers were searching his person to arrest, they found two loaded handguns in Dunlap’s jacket. Troopers stated in the court documents that Dunlap did not inform law enforcement that he was concealing a deadly weapon.
Troopers charged Dunlap with fourth- and fifth-degree misconduct involving a weapon.
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