Drink-driving police officer denied discharge without conviction

The officer returned a reading of 545mcg. The legal limit is 250mcg. File photo / Duncan Brown

A police officer who crashed into a parked car while driving drunk has been denied a discharge without conviction.

But his sentencing judge noted the officer had responded to his offending “fulsomely and appropriately”, as the public would expect of him.

Robin Clayton, 39, has been in the police for three years. He was driving on a residential street in Wellington about 11pm on January 19.

He drove towards the left side of the road to avoid other vehicles and, while distracted, crashed into a parked car.

He told police he had been drinking, and returned a breath alcohol reading of 545mcg, Judge Andrew Nicholls said at the hearing in the Wellington District Court today. The legal limit is 250mcg, and a reading over 400mcg will result in a criminal charge.

Clayton, who pleaded guilty to careless driving and driving with excess breath alcohol, applied to be discharged without conviction.

His lawyer argued a conviction could negatively impact Clayton’s employment, and the consequences of a driving disqualification would also create difficulties for his employment and contact with his children.

“This really is a one-off offence. Someone in his position, of course, knows the implications of this,” his lawyer said.

In assessing the gravity of the offending, Judge Nicholls said when police officers commit crimes, there are some, such as theft, which spoke to a breach of trust and values.

Other offences, however, arose from “human failing and lapse in judgment”.

“I think the public appreciates police officers are human and over the course of their career may make mistakes,” he said, noting that it was important for officers to then role model how to respond to their mistakes.

Judge Nicholls said Clayton had stayed at the scene, told officers he was drinking, arranged a tow truck and storage for his car, pleaded guilty at the first opportunity, and had undergone counselling to prevent future incidents. He had also offered to make a payment to the owner of the other vehicle.

“You have responded to your mistake fulsomely and appropriately,” Judge Nicholls said.

Despite Clayton’s good behaviour and lack of previous convictions, Judge Nicholls said the consequences of a conviction were not out of all proportion to the offending, which he called “serious”.

He said an affidavit from a police staff member indicated the employment process focused on the conduct, rather than the formality of a conviction.

“It is not obvious that your offending . . . will result in the most serious sanction of you losing your job.”

He convicted the officer, ordered him to pay $500 emotional harm reparation to the victim, and disqualified him from driving for six months.

Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.