Police trainee charged with DUI gets bail

A police trainee who crashed into a stalled motorist along the Beetham Highway in the wee hours on Sunday and ended up injuring the driver was granted bail after failing three consecutive breathalyser tests.

The trainee, whose close male relative is also a police officer, was formally charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI) after his blood alcohol level was found to be 73.

The legal limit is 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 milligrammes of breath.

Police said officers of the Traffic and Highway Patrol Branch stopped to assist the motorist whose car had stalled along the east-bound lane of the Beetham Highway in the vicinity of the Beetham Landfill, around 4.30 am on August 24.

As the officers pulled up, they heard a loud noise and realised a car had crashed into the stalled vehicle, injuring the driver.

The driver of the other vehicle, which later turned out to be the police trainee, reportedly smelled of alcohol, and his speech was slurred.

He was taken to the Besson Street Police Station, where he was breathalysed three separate times, and his blood alcohol level was found to be in excess of the legal limits each time.

A senior police officer yesterday said it was a sad way for the trainee’s professional career to end, as it was currently hanging in the balance.

“It is highly likely that if convicted, he will be removed from his post.” – Anna-Lisa Paul