Senior Gold Coast police officer to face court after allegedly blowing above drink-drive limit
Police Minister Mark Ryan’s office has asked the Commissioner to probe a Gold Coast officer’s alleged drink-driving incident. Read latest.
Police & Courts
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The Police Commissioner will probe the Queensland Police Service handling of a senior Gold Coast officer’s alleged drink-driving drama.
The senior Gold Coast officer - a 53-year-old Detective Sergeant - has been served with a notice to appear in Southport Magistrates Court for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol with a reading of .203.
The officer was pulled over on Sunday morning and allegedly failed the breath-test, the Bulletin revealed on Wednesday, according to police sources.
It’s understood the officer allegedly involved has more than three decades of service across numerous specialist police units, including criminal investigations, and the State Intelligence Group.
Police Minister Mark Ryan’s office contacted Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski’s office about the incident on Wednesday. Minister Ryan’s office is requesting examination of all matters surrounding the incident including the Queensland Police Service’s handling of it, the Bulletin can reveal.
In a statement, Minister Ryan said: “Along with all Queenslanders, and the Queensland Police Service, I expect the highest standards of professionalism and ethical conduct from all officers of the Queensland Police Service.
“All allegations made against police officers are referred to the appropriate entity for investigation.
“This matter has been forwarded to the Commissioner’s office for investigation.”
The Bulletin was first told on Sunday afternoon by police sources about the alleged drink-drive incident involving the Gold Coast Detective Sergeant, hours after the incident.
Questions were sent to the Queensland Police Service (QPS) on Tuesday morning – requesting confirmation of the alleged incident.
The QPS issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon confirming a 53-year-old Detective Sergeant had been issued with a notice to appear for driving a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor.
It claims the incident occurred in a private vehicle.
The QPS in that statement did not disclose when, or where the alleged offence took place or what the blood alcohol reading was. It also did not say at that time whether the officer had been stood down or when he was due to appear in court.
The service regularly releases such information when a member of the public is involved in an alleged drink driving offence – including just days ago when it revealed a Pimpama man had allegedly blown 0.229 during a traffic stop on the Pacific Motorway.
The QPS updated it’s website later on Wednesday with the full details of the alleged incident involving the Detective Sergeant, after the Bulletin’s initial publication.
The statement revealed the alleged breath-test reading was 0.203, more than four times the legal limit. According to the statement, the incident occurred on July 14, with the officer allegedly involved to front court on August 8.
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