It’s embarrassing for the Toronto Police Service when one of their own team members gets caught for impaired driving.
An officer was charged with impaired driving after entering a licensed bar inside a lounge for senior officers at the Toronto Police Service’s headquarters. Shortly after the charge, the chief’s office and Executive Officers Lounge Committee announced that the bar will be shut down permanently and the bar’s liquor licence would not be renewed.
Based on the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), The Executive Officers Lounge got the liquor licence at the headquarters in 1989.
“Moving forward, the service will apply for a special occasions permit from the AGCO should we decide to host an event where alcohol may be served,” the spokesperson said.
Supt. Riyaz Hussein was the officer who was caught drunk driving after he entered the lounge three hours before he crashed his service-issued SUV into another car in Pickering, Ontario.
Hussein, head of the police service’s disciplinary tribunal, pleaded “guilty to driving with a blood-alcohol level over 80 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood in connection to the crash. He was sentenced to a one-year driving prohibition and fined $1,560.”
It’s not a regular occurrence that the bar is open for the staff. Police said the alcohol licence was used for a few formal events like “retirements or when hosting dignitaries.”
Jon Reid, President of The Toronto Police Association, supported the decision to shut the bar. “It has always been our strong desire that command and senior officers lead by example in both their actions and accountability,” Reid said.
John Sewell, co-ordinator of the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition, is also in favor of the bar shutting down for good. “It’s crazy that they ever had it. But good, I’m glad they’re getting rid of it,” Sewell said. “It’s entirely inappropriate. If the police officers want to drink, there’s lots of bars around police headquarters.”
It’s always a strange sight when the authorities experience a brief lapse in judgment. In this case, leading by example is not advised.
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-police-bar-closing-1.6901580