Illawarra police officer’s licence suspended after drink-driving

An Illawarra police officer has been disqualified from driving for seven months, after he was caught drink driving at Oak Flats.

Illawarra police officer Dominic Quinn leaves Albion Park Local Court on July 5.

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A serving Illawarra police officer has had his licence suspended for seven months after he was caught drink-driving at Oak Flats.

Dominic Quinn, 39, a police officer with Lake Illawarra Police District, faced Albion Park Local Court on Friday, where he plead guilty to mid-range drink driving.

According to police facts, Quinn was driving his wife’s Audi along the Princes Highway at Oak Flats just before 10pm on April 28, when he reached speeds of 87km/h in an 70 zone.

Police caught up to the vehicle and subjected Quinn to a roadside breath test, which returned a positive result.

Quinn told police he had just finished a drink before getting behind the wheel, so police waited a further 15 minutes before conducting another test.

The breath test again returned a positive result and he was taken to Lake Illawarra Police Station for breath analysis, where he told police he had consumed seven schooners of light beer between 5pm and 9.45pm.

At the station, the analysis returned a result of 0.126, and as a result, Quinn was charged with mid-range drink driving, and his license was suspended on the spot.

Quinn was represented by lawyer Graeme Morrison during his appearance on Friday, who told Magistrate Susan McGowan his client had deep remorse for his actions.

Illawarra police officer Dominic Quinn leaves Albion Park Local Court on July 5.

“He dedicates a great deal of his time to the community and he feels he let down the community quite dramatically,” Mr Morrison said.

“This is a situation your honour often hears. He has made a foolish decision after drinking but since then he’s tried to do the best he can to go forward.”

In a letter to Magistrate McGowan, Quinn, who has been a police officer since 2003, said his loss of license had impacted not just himself, but his family and colleagues.

“My inability to drive has caused a further reliance on colleagues when scheduling appointments and progressing investigations,” he said.

“I was charged by colleagues at [Lake Illawarra Police District]. I was conveyed to custody facilities where I underwent breath analysis. I am stationed at the command. This caused and has continued to cause embarrassment and humiliation.”

In His letter, Quinn told Magistrate McGowan he had taken full responsibility for his actions and would “never again place myself and others in a situation like this again.’’

In handing down her sentence, Magistrate McGowan said Quinn was a “longstanding police officer with a very good driving record,” however, said she was “concerned” with his high breath analysis reading.

Magistrate McGowan suspended Quinn’s licence for a period of seven months and ordered he pay a $1000 fine.

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