The constable had taken an undercover police vehicle to his son’s lacrosse tournament in Whitby.

Ottawa Police Constable Timothy Cowley won’t be driving for a while and has taken a demotion, after he was caught driving under the influence of alcohol in Whitby.

To make matters worse, the 22-year member of the Ottawa police force was driving an undercover police vehicle and had his teen son and his son’s friend in the car at the time of the incident, back on June 16.

Someone alerted police about a potentially drunk driver leaving a restaurant in Whitby that day, and when officers caught up with the Toyota Highlander being driven by Cowley, it sped up, almost hitting another police cruiser which had its lights flashing.

At the scene, Cowley told the responding officers he had not been drinking, even though they could smell it on him and his speech was slurred. Cowley then failed a roadside screening test, and was found to have about twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system after police did further testing at their headquarters.

Cowley plead guilty to drinking and driving-related charges in August, and received a one-year driving ban, as well as a $1,500 fine.

He admitted that he knew he was not supposed to use the undercover police vehicle for any events outside of work, and was not supposed to have family members in the Highlander. Cowley said he had been drinking in the parking lot where his son’s lacrosse tournament was happening.

The constable now attends Alcoholics Anonymous and has been sober for four months.

He has been demoted from First Class Constable with the Ottawa Police Service, to Second Class Constable for 15 months.

Source: OttawaMatters.com