Mountie to be charged with impaired driving following crash

A Vancouver-based RCMP officer faces charges of impaired driving following a single-vehicle crash at the south end of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge on early Saturday morning, according to police.

The off-duty officer was driving his own vehicle when it collided with a barrier, heavily damaging the vehicle, said the RCMP in a statement released Monday morning.

Two civilian passengers in the car sustained minor injuries, said police. The Ironworkers Memorial Bridge links Highway 1 between East Vancouver and North Vancouver.

As part of the investigation, Vancouver police obtained breath samples from the driver, which were determined to be over the legal limit of 0.08, said a police statement.

The officer is to appear in court on Nov. 20 to face charges of impaired driving, and driving with a blood alcohol exceeding 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

He received a 24-hour suspension and a 90-day administrative driving prohibition.He has also been re-assigned to administrative duties pending the outcome of an RCMP code of conduct investigation.

The driver isaconstable with RCMP working in General Duty Protective Policingbased at the force's Vancouver headquarters.The RCMP statement said his name will be released when charges have been approved by Crown counsel.

5th RCMP officer charged

The charges are the fifth in a string of impaired driving incidents involving Vancouver-area RCMP officers over the past two years.

On Sept. 25, an officer from the RCMP Coquitlam detachment was charged with impaired driving after being stopped by members of his own detachment on his way from the Boulevard Casino in Coquitlam early Friday morning.

Earlier this year, RCMP Cpl. Benjamin Robinson failed to get his driver's licence back after claiming he took two shots of vodka following a fatal accident last November in Delta that left a motorcyclist dead.

Following the crash, Robinson was reportedly suspended with pay from the RCMP's Vancouver 2010 integrated security unit and investigators recommended charges of impaired driving causing death and impaired driving.

In December 2007, RCMP Cpl. Darren Baker was stoppedby West Vancouver police while driving erraticallyand charged with impaired driving.

And in October 2007, RCMP Const. Kulwant Singh Malhi, 41, was arrested after a hit-and-run collision in Richmond, B.C., that occurred while he was off duty. He was charged with impaired driving, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, and failure to remain at the scene of an accident.