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RICHARDSON, Texas—A substitute middle school teacher suspected of being drunk in class was too intoxicated to complete a sobriety test and was arrested, authorities said.

Thomas Brownlee, 56, was in a classroom Tuesday with students and another staff member for about 20 minutes, Richardson school district spokesman Tim Clark said. Another teacher suspected Browlee was drunk and told a campus police officer. A Dallas police report states that Brownlee “had slurred speech, breath smelling of an alcoholic beverage and bloodshot eyes.”

The officer stopped issuing a sobriety test out of concern for Brownlee’s safety, according to the report.

Brownlee was charged with public intoxication, police said.

Clark said students were never alone with Brownlee, and that the district had used him as a substitute teacher before without incident.