Edmonton Police Watch

Edmonton Sun

A long-time Edmonton police officer was convicted of impaired driving today for driving drunk from the west-division station after having drinks with colleagues.

Const. Brian Toner, 49, had testified he had been suffering from the flu on the morning of Feb. 24, 2006, but provincial court Judge Peter Johnston ruled the evidence of the 25-year veteran was “not very convincing.”

The out-of-town judge also rejected defence arguments that his Charter rights were breached during his arrest.

A date for sentencing is slated to be set on Thursday and defence lawyer Robert Hladun told the judge he would be presenting evidence for a curative discharge application.

Curative discharges are given to people with proven drinking problems and result in the person being sentenced to probation with a condition they seek treatment.

Johnston called it a “very novel” case due to the incident starting in a police station and all the evidence coming from fellow officers, some of whom were Toner’s friends.

The judge also noted there was no evidence of how much booze was drank at the station’s lunchroom that morning and said it was “interesting” that none of the other four cop drinkers were called to testify at the trial.

Court heard Staff Sgt. Kenneth Ogilvie had stopped at the table the men were drinking at and, after noting Toner was “really drunk,” instructed him to be driven home.

However, when the junior officer assigned the task went to get Toner, it was discovered he had disappeared.

Shortly after, another officer found Toner asleep in the driver’s seat of his Oldsmobile, which was running and parked along the side of 165 Street near 97 Avenue.

That officer returned the slurring and booze-smelling Toner to the station, where he was placed in the locked backseat of the junior constable’s cruiser.

Toner was then being driven home when an upset Ogilvie learned what had happened and ordered him returned again to the station to be charged with impaired driving.

Court also heard Toner vomited in the back of the junior officer’s cruiser and wet his pants and cut his forehead when he fell while in a holding cell at the station.

Testifying in his own defence, Toner told court he had been suffering from the flu throughout his shift and had been vomiting, feeling dizzy and upset in his stomach.

Despite being ill, he admitted he went to the station lunchroom to have “a few drinks” with fellow officers in his squad about 4 a.m. following their shift.

Toner testified he next remembers waking up to the sound of his car door opening and seeing a fellow officer who told him to get into his police cruiser.

He claimed he felt like he was being “detained” in the two cruisers and his Charter rights were breached when the two officers did not advise him he was under arrest and allow him an opportunity to speak to a lawyer.

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