A commander with the Metropolitan Police Department has submitted his retirement after a 7News DC story revealed him using police patrol cars to travel to and from a bar on U Street. Fifth District Commander William FitzGerald has been placed on administrative leave until he retires, and MPD is investigating the matter.

“We recently learned that MPD’s Fifth District Commander William Fitzgerald was the subject of an investigative news story, and were advised of his concerning behavior,” an MPD spokesperson wrote in a statement. “Based on the information provided to us, our Internal Affairs Bureau initiated an investigation. Commander Fitzgerald has submitted his notice of retirement and has been placed on administrative leave until that date. This matter remains under investigation.”

MPD did not share what aspect of FitzGerald’s behavior they were specifically investigating.

When reached by DCist/WAMU, FitzGerald declined to comment.

The 7News DC story described itself as an “undercover investigation.” On five occasions over a two-week period, the news team filmed FitzGerald without his knowledge, getting dropped off by MPD patrol cars or unmarked SUVs, drinking at Solly’s U St. Tavern, and then getting picked up by MPD vehicles for the 10-minute ride home to his apartment.

When confronted on camera, FitzGerald told 7News that using the patrol car to drop him off at the bar was appropriate, because he would use that time to check beats and talk to officers. But he acknowledged that using the MPD vehicles for rides home was “wrong.”

“At the end of the night, it’s wrong,” he said. When asked how long he had been doing this, FitzGerald said, “I can’t give you a time frame, but too long.”

“We’re worried about you, that you might have an issue with alcohol,” the 7News reporter told FitzGerald. “We want you to get some help.”

“I think it’s best I don’t talk now, but you’re right,” FitzGerald responded.

FitzGerald joined MPD in 1990, according to MPD’s website. Over the course of his 30-year tenure with the police department, he served in patrol positions and later investigative positions. In 2001, the department named him Investigator of the Year for his work in the Fourth District. He eventually oversaw the detective units for all seven MPD districts, and then became the Fifth District Commander — the top police official responsible for an area that covers much of Northeast D.C. — in 2015.

This is the latest investigation of an officer in MPD to be announced in less than a month: Another officer is on leave and under investigation for alleged ties to a right-wing extremist group.