"A Bad Night"
Sgt. Chris McGuinness, evidently aptly named, had one too many for the road. The veteran Ottawa police sergeant admits to having had "some beers" last year to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. He made a conscious decision to get in his vehicle and drive off, leaving the pub he was in with friends (St. Louis Bar and Grill), although as an officer of the law he would certainly be aware of the legal and social prohibition against drinking and driving.
A police officer is not immune to the same lawful strictures that others in society must adhere to. As a police officer Sgt. McGuinness would be only too aware of the effects of drinking and driving. He must surely have been witness to a number of horrific outcomes on the road during his career, relating to those who made the same choice as he did. It cannot have come as a huge surprise that he was in no condition to assess his own driving capabilities.
Did the friends with whom he was drinking, as friends, advise him not to drive? Did they too, having consumed liquor proceed to get into their vehicles and drive off after their liquid evening celebrations? Charges of impaired driving and failing to remain at the scene of an accident were withdrawn after this man pleaded guilty to failing to report an accident under the Highway Traffic Act. He also received a conditional discharge.
If he is successful in completing a year of probation, he will avoid a criminal record. His license was suspended for a year, and he was fined $250. Getting off pretty lightly; all the more difficult to understand given his position of trust as an officer of the law. Testimonials from colleagues attesting to his good performance as a police officer aside, the man is guilty of a primary breach of trust.
He crashed his vehicle into a wooden pole at one in the morning, the collision causing his head to violently to hit the windshield. A pedestrian offered assistance, but Sgt. McGuinness sped off, barely missing another vehicle as he turned off onto the Vanier Parkway, rear-ending a taxi which he then passed in high gear, exiting the 417, then to an off ramp, where he abandoned his damaged car.
Two months on a witness picked him out of a photo lineup, and DNA results obtained from the vehicle further identified him. His lawyer claimed alcohol played no part in what had occurred; his client had been distracted by his cellphone. The man's dishonourable conduct occurred, as his lawyer would have it, as a result of the collision, impacting St. McGuinness head and his judgement.
"This is a superb police officer who had a bad night", contended his lawyer, as he handed over to the presiding judge a compilation of commendations of exemplary conduct written by police chiefs, other officers and members of the public. This 20-year veteran most certainly did have a 'bad night'. After the night in question he did nothing to remediate matters on his own initiative.
Police face split-second decision-making continually in the pursuit of their professional life. The decision this man made and other decisions he failed to make, all revolving around the incident that gave him a 'bad night', indicate that he is unsuited to the trust placed in him as a police officer, due to his extremely poor judgement.
A police officer is not immune to the same lawful strictures that others in society must adhere to. As a police officer Sgt. McGuinness would be only too aware of the effects of drinking and driving. He must surely have been witness to a number of horrific outcomes on the road during his career, relating to those who made the same choice as he did. It cannot have come as a huge surprise that he was in no condition to assess his own driving capabilities.
Did the friends with whom he was drinking, as friends, advise him not to drive? Did they too, having consumed liquor proceed to get into their vehicles and drive off after their liquid evening celebrations? Charges of impaired driving and failing to remain at the scene of an accident were withdrawn after this man pleaded guilty to failing to report an accident under the Highway Traffic Act. He also received a conditional discharge.
If he is successful in completing a year of probation, he will avoid a criminal record. His license was suspended for a year, and he was fined $250. Getting off pretty lightly; all the more difficult to understand given his position of trust as an officer of the law. Testimonials from colleagues attesting to his good performance as a police officer aside, the man is guilty of a primary breach of trust.
He crashed his vehicle into a wooden pole at one in the morning, the collision causing his head to violently to hit the windshield. A pedestrian offered assistance, but Sgt. McGuinness sped off, barely missing another vehicle as he turned off onto the Vanier Parkway, rear-ending a taxi which he then passed in high gear, exiting the 417, then to an off ramp, where he abandoned his damaged car.
Two months on a witness picked him out of a photo lineup, and DNA results obtained from the vehicle further identified him. His lawyer claimed alcohol played no part in what had occurred; his client had been distracted by his cellphone. The man's dishonourable conduct occurred, as his lawyer would have it, as a result of the collision, impacting St. McGuinness head and his judgement.
"This is a superb police officer who had a bad night", contended his lawyer, as he handed over to the presiding judge a compilation of commendations of exemplary conduct written by police chiefs, other officers and members of the public. This 20-year veteran most certainly did have a 'bad night'. After the night in question he did nothing to remediate matters on his own initiative.
Police face split-second decision-making continually in the pursuit of their professional life. The decision this man made and other decisions he failed to make, all revolving around the incident that gave him a 'bad night', indicate that he is unsuited to the trust placed in him as a police officer, due to his extremely poor judgement.
Labels: Human Relations, Justice, Ottawa
posted by Pieface @ 5:55 PM
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