3 Takes: When police officers break the law

A LaSalle police officer recently pleaded guilty to impaired driving. He also pleaded guilty to discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act. But he kept his job and was placed on "administrative duties."

• LaSalle cop guilty of discreditable conduct after DUI

CBC'sWindsor Morning3 Takes panel took a lookat police officers who break the law. Should they be held to higher standards than the general public when it comes to breaking the law? What about other people in positions of trustsuchasteachers and lawyers?

Sarah Mushtaq, Sinan Sbahi and Missy Sauro spoke with Windsor Morning host Tony Doucette about the issue. Here is a sample of their conversation.

Sarah

For a police officer, breaking the law is hypocritical. How can an officerenforce drinking and driving charges after a conviction? Shouldn't an officer, out of all people, know the serious consequences of something like impaired driving?It feels hypocritical for professionals in a position of trust in the community to break the law.

Missy

A criminal conviction for a police officer is serious because they are supposed to enforce the law. At first, it seems like they should be fired, but there could be other factors to consider, like a diagnosis of alcoholism, for example. I could see officers being suspended without pay in the case of a criminal conviction.

Sinan

Officers keeping their jobs after a conviction feels like a slap in the face. Many police chiefs throughout the province - including Chief Frederick here in Windsor - have called on the provincial government to give them more autonomy to suspend officers without pay. Hopefully it happens.

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