West Yorkshire Police officer arrived at work in Wakefield three times over drink driving limit
A police officer who arrived at work in Wakefield three times over the drink driving limit has been found guilty of gross misconduct.
PC Meg Daniel attended the Carr Gate Training Centre near Wakefield, where West Yorkshire Police runs its training school, on March 8 this year and recorded a 117mcg of alcohol on her breath when doing a breath test. The national limit for driving is 35mcg.
She was charged with driving while over the limit and pleaded guilty at Sheffield Magistrates Court on April 15. Ms Daniel was banned from driving for 28 months, fined £600 and ordered to pay costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £240.
West Yorkshire Police held the misconduct hearing on Monday (July 29) but Ms Daniel did not attend; having resigned from the force the week before.
In her absence, the panel found that Ms Daniel was in breach of the police’s code of conduct and had committed gross misconduct, in that she has brought discredit on the police and undermined public confidence.
In summing up why the decision was made, the report of the proceedings reads: “The officer’s level of intoxication was such that there was a real and significant risk of serious harm to both former PC Daniel and any other vehicle or road user at that time. There is therefore high harm in this case.”
The report states that Ms Daniel would have been dismissed had she not already resigned.
It states: “This breach exceeds the threshold of purely unacceptable or improper behaviour and reaches the threshold of being so serious that it justifies dismissal.”
Ms Daniel has also been barred from joining the police force indefinitely.