BEND, Ore. -- The Oregon Department of Justice is investigating Bend's Deputy Police Chief John Maniscalco, who has been with the agency for about 30 years.

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The investigation comes after a police report showing that Maniscalco used a Bend police car to go and pick up his longtime companion, Bend Deputy Fire Marshal Susie Lovisco, who had reportedly been driving erratically, speeding and fishtailing on the outskirts of Bend over the July 4th weekend.

Maniscalco reportedly picked up Lovisco before police arrived on the scene.

Maniscalco told investigators after the incident that Lovisco called him and said a citizen had stopped her in the street and taken her keys.

"He said Susie was extremely upset and he knew how busy it was on the Fourth of July and, because she was scared and they were calling her drunk, he wanted a car with a radio in it in case he needed to call police himself," Bend Police Chief Andy Jordan told The Bend Bulletin.

The Bend Police Department ultimately found no evidence that Lovisco was drunk.

An outside investigator from Hood River found that Maniscalco did not act inappropriately, but in mid-August Deschutes County District Attorney Mike Dugan referred the Maniscalco investigation to the Oregon Department of Justice for review.

Jordan said that, if history is an indicator, the investigation could take months.

Dugan said that he will not decide whether Lovisco will be charged until the Attorney General's office finishes its investigation.

It has been a difficult month for the Bend Police Department; Patrol Officer Buckley Duane Church II was arrested Aug. 24 in Linn County and is accused of trying to outrun police on his motorcycle near Santiam Pass. Church has since been placed on desk duty.