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Drunk-driving crash followed party at cop shop
Updated Fri. Nov. 3 2006 11:03 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
A West Vancouver police constable was drinking at a police station party the night she was arrested for drunk driving, her chief constable revealed Thursday.
But Chief Const. Scott Armstrong told reporters he pulled the plug on the police parties after Const. Lisa Alford was arrested for crashing into another car.
"The day after it was brought to my attention, I published a standing order that forbade the consumption of alcoholic beverages in our building," Armstrong said at a press conference on Thursday.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada expressed outrage when it was reported that Alford placed highly in a department competition to become next in line for a promotion.
"Drinking and driving is a criminal offence. She's a police officer, her job is to enforce the laws, and her job is to prevent drinking and driving on the roadways and highways of British Columbia," MADD Canada spokesman John Banovich told CTV Vancouver.
B.C. Solicitor-General John Les called for the matter to be investigated, saying it was unacceptable that "some pretty serious drinking" was going on at the detachment.
"I have called the chair of the (West Vancouver) police board (and) the mayor of West Vancouver this afternoon and asked them to take a look at this situation urgently," Les said Thursday.
"They will be doing that, I'm told, very soon."
Alford lost her driver's licence and received a $600 dollar fine after she rear-ended a car in Burnaby, B.C. last November.
She pleaded guilty to driving with a blood alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit.
After facing questions over Alford's possible promotion, Armstrong admitted she was drinking at the police station with other officers the night she was arrested.
"I believe it was just an after-shift get-together," Armstrong said, who acknowledged he has joined the party himself in the past.
Asked at a news conference if he was sending mixed messages to the public by allowing such parties, he replied: "Not any more."
Police have said Alford's criminal conviction is not serious enough to warrant dismissal.
In answering the critics, her superiors conceded the five-year member of the force made a mistake but said she has been "exemplary in every other aspect."
"I'm sure you're well aware nobody is infallible," Armstrong said.
Alford is currently working a desk job. She became eligible for promotion after entering a competition within the detachment.
The process to apply for a promotion includes a written exam and an in-depth personal interview with three staff sergeants, according to The Canadian Press.
Armstrong said Alford scored 96 per cent on the written exam, the highest mark from all the applicants.
The police members who participated in the interview process noted that she informed Armstrong after the arrest, as well as individual officers, staff members, former employers and community members she was socially involved with.
"As a result of the panel's assessment, she placed No. 2 on a list of 10 officers who are eligible for promotion,'' said Armstrong.
This means that Alford is second in line when a position becomes available in the next three years.
With a report from CTV Vancouver's Lisa Rossington
