No criminal charges for off-duty Winnipeg police officer who failed breathalyzer: IIU

A Winnipeg police officer will not face prosecution after failing a roadside alcohol screening while off duty and refusing to provide a second breath sample, Manitoba's police watchdog says.

An RCMP officer in the rural municipality of Whitemouth pulled over asilver truck on May 21 that had a damaged fender after the vehicle crossed the road's centreline, says areport from Manitoba's Independent Investigation Unit,which investigates all serious matters involving police.

Whitemouth RCMPhad received two separate calls earlier that night abouta damaged vehicle driving erratically near Rennie, Man., 125kilometres west of Winnipeg, according to the IIU report.

The driver of the silver truck failed an alcohol screening,received a 90-day driving prohibition,a $700 fine, and had his vehicle impounded, the IIU report says.

Driver claimed 'personal issues'

According to theIIU report,the screening test resulted in an insufficient breath reading, which the arresting officer suspected was due to the driver putting his tongue in front of thebreathalyzer straw.

The report says the driver continued to be "passive resistant" to the test, whichpromptedthe RCMP officer to askthe man whether he was refusing to do the alcohol screening.

The driver told the RCMP officer that he was a member of the Winnipeg Police Service and was having some personal issues.

The IIUreport says theRCMP officer told the man he would receive a three-day suspension if he failed the breathalyzer test.The driver thenblew into the breathalyser again, resulting in a"fail" reading.

A second RCMP officerwalked the man to the back of apolicevehicleand he could not walk in a straight line, the report says.

When the first RCMP officer began to complete the paperwork for the failed breathalyzer test, the officer realized the three-day suspension she had communicated to the driver was only for a "warn" breath test, and that a "fail" breath test would mean the driver faced a 90-day driving prohibition, the IIU report says.

The driver accused the RCMP officer of deliberately misleading him and was reportedly angry with her. He declined to take a second breath test when it was offered.

The RCMP officer released the driver to the man's wife who had come to pick him up, the IIU report says.

On May 23, afterprompting from Manitoba Public Insurance, the RCMPofficer completed an updated impaired form, adding that the driver had been slurring his wordsand had unfocused eyes, and that immediately after the first breath test, a second breath test was offered to the driver, which the driver declined.

Crown opinion

As a part of the IIU's investigation and report, thecivilian director of the unit askedthe provinceto review the case and consider whether charges should be laid for the driver refusing to provide a second breath sample, andthere being damage to the silver truck.

On Sept.24, the Manitoba Prosecution Service informed the IIUthat charges against the off-duty police officer were not warrantedbecause the accused had been penalized through immediate roadside prohibitionsunder the Highway Traffic Act,and that the arresting RCMP officer"exercised discretion, consistent with discretion exercised in relation to other impaired drivers," the IIU report says.

Given the circumstances ofthe incident, including the Crown choosing to not recommend any criminal charges against the off-duty officer and deciding accountability through the immediate roadside prohibition was theappropriate choice,the IIU said it is not recommending charges against the Winnipeg policeofficer, and the investigation is now closed.

CBC asked the Winnipeg Police Servicewhetherany disciplinary measures would be taken against the officer and received the following response:

"As this is an RCMP/IIU investigation we would not provide comment regarding their initial or follow-up investigation. The WPS does not typically provide comment on internal disciplinary matters," public information officerConst. Dani Mckinnon wrotein an email.

In July 2023 the province announced that impaired Manitoba drivers involved in collisions would begin to pay for damages they cause to other vehicles and property starting in August of thatyear, and will be unable to receive third-party liability coverage fromMPI.