Drunk Catholic School Principal Arrested at Strip Club During DC Field Trip
Michael Comeau stands down after being picked up by police for 'refusing to pay his bill'
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A Catholic school principal has resigned after he was arrested at a strip club near the White House while he was meant to be chaperoning a Washington DC field trip, according to reports.
47-year-old Michael Comeau, then-principal of the Holy Family Catholic School in Louisiana, was picked up by police outside Archibald's Gentleman's Club early Friday morning.
Officers were responding to a call about an "intoxicated" patron who was "refusing to pay his bill," WAFB-TV reported.
The disgraced educator ditched the hotel where his seventh and eighth-grade students were staying in favor of a boozy night of adult entertainment.
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According to the incident report, Comeau "was observed standing in the roadway, refusing to move."
He was arrested for suspicion of public intoxication and possession of an open container of alcohol after refusing multiple requests to get out of the street.
Witnesses claimed Comeau had a service dog with him in the club.
The police report did not mention the animal being with the suspect at the time of his arrest, however.
The principal — who was supervising a school-sponsored trip to the nation's capital for Holy Family's seventh and eighth graders — resigned via text hours later.
A spokesman for the Diocese of Baton Rouge confirmed Comeau's arrest and subsequent resignation through a statement.
The statement clarifies that "the incident occurred when the students on the trip were in their hotel rooms for the evening under the supervision of other chaperones," the Monroe Daily Star reported.
According to WAFB, Comeau also worked as a part-time reserve officer for the Brusly Police Department in Brusly, Louisiana, and has resigned from his position there, too.
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The Advocate reported that before his arrest, Comeau was "seen as a rising star locally and nationally."
He was previously "named one of the 20 outstanding teachers honored by USA Today and received the prestigious Milken education award, which comes with a $25,000 stipend."
But this isn't the first time the principal has come under fire.
In 2006, Comeau stepped down as assistant principal at Baton Rouge's Prescott Middle School over accusations that he mishandled $120,000 in Hurricane Katrina recovery donations.
