Guilty of impaired driving: a police officer can it be reinstated ?

Photo Fotolia

Jean-François Desbiens

Thursday, 1 march 2018 17:17

UPDATE
Thursday, 1 march 2018 17:17

Look at this article

SHERBROOKE – A police officer guilty of impaired driving by alcohol and hit-and-run should it be removed ? It is the decision that needs to take the direction of the Service de police de Sherbrooke (SPS) in the case of sergeant Eric Lebel.

The judges of the Court of appeal just rejected unanimously in his claim for new trial. This decision, made Wednesday, practically puts an end to the legal proceedings unless it is addressed to the Supreme Court of Canada, which would be the least surprising.

In march 2014, while he was in civilian clothes, Éric Lebel had been involved in an accident with a road grader from Sherbrooke assigned to the snow removal at night.

The police officer had stopped a few moments and then continue his journey in the direction of his home. It is a employee blue-collar Town who had followed him to ask him to stop while one of his colleagues called the police.

The officers intervened on the scene have decided to renew Éric Lebel to his home and tow his vehicle without taking any measure to its location to determine if it was in a fit state to drive.

Without public denunciation of blue-collar workers of the City, there would have been no internal investigation or indictment.

After a trial in June 2015, the judge Serge Champoux of the Court of Quebec has declared the policeman, Lebel guilty of impaired ability and hit-and-run.

Section 119 of the police Act provides that a police officer has been found guilty of a criminal offence is automatically removed from office unless the prosecution has been brought by summary proceedings, which is the case in this folder. In the case of summary proceedings, the law allows either the dismissal or the imposition of disciplinary sanctions.

The sergeant Éric Lebel has been reassigned to administrative duties following his conviction in 2015.

The direction of the SPS is to analyze the situation and make recommendations to the city council. These are the elected officials who will decide. Given his conviction, the police officer does he have the credibility required to continue its work ? How his reinstatement would be perceived by the population ? These are all arguments that must be taken into account in the thinking of the leaders of the police force.

Parallel to this story, three other police officers are subject to sanctions before the police ethics committee.

The three officers intervened on the scene of the accident were cited for not having behaved in a manner to preserve the confidence and consideration required by their functions.

Christine Corriveau, Nicholas Lemay and Éric Labrecque are cited to appear in September 2018 under four heads: have completed the investigation to be incomplete; not to have proceeded to the arrest of Eric Lebel; have not respected the authority of the law to promote a person ; are placed in a situation of conflict of interest.