A serving Garda is fighting to save his job – after he was arrested on suspicion of drink driving, it has emerged.
This paper has learned that the officer, who was off duty at the time of the incident, has now been charged and is due to appear in court in the coming weeks.
Sources say the officer was arrested at a mandatory checkpoint in Co Tipperary early on Sunday morning – and failed the roadside breath test.
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It’s understood he was more than four times over the legal limit, which is currently 22 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.
Sources say the officer, who is not involved in roads policing, had a reading of almost 100 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.
He was arrested and later charged following the incident and is now facing prosecution.
If convicted he faces a fine of €400 as well as being put off the road for three years.
But sources have told this paper that the officer will also run a serious risk of being sacked from the force if he is convicted.
“He is in real trouble,” one source said last night.
“He will be fighting to keep his job once court is concluded. It is a very serious matter.”
Another source said Garda management would take a dim view of the officer’s actions - if he is convicted.
“It will be hard for him to stay in the job after this,” a source said.
It’s understood the officer, who is based in the south of the country, was stopped at a so-called MIT checkpoint in Clonmel on Sunday morning.
Those checkpoints see officers stop random drivers and ask them for a breath specimen. There is no need for officers on the checkpoints to form an opinion the driver is over the limit before asking them for a breath test.
A Garda spokesman last night confirmed a member of the force had been arrested at a checkpoint on Sunday morning and was now facing prosecution.
The spokesman said: “An Garda Siochana can confirm that an off duty member of An Garda Siochana stationed in the Southern Region was arrested in Clonmel on Sunday morning 14/8/22 on suspicion of driving under the influence of an intoxicant.
“That member was subsequently charged to a future sitting of Clonmel District Court.”
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