RCMP officer guilty of impaired driving

(Regina Leader-Post) – A Regina Provincial Court judge has found an RCMP officer guilty of impaired driving.

Insp. Dave S. Sabean had pleaded not guilty to the offence and a trial was held previously. Judge Dennis Fenwick returned with his decision earlier this week, finding the 45-year-old police officer guilty as charged.

Sabean, who was off-duty at the time, was charged as the result of a vehicle stop in Regina by a member of the city police on Aug. 21, 2010.

There was no accompanying charge – as is often the case – of driving with a blood-alcohol level exceeding .08.

Fenwick handed Sabean a $1,000 fine and a one-year driving prohibition, the minimum sentence for this type of offence.

This isn’t Sabean’s first brush with the other side of the law.

He was charged with assault in 2009 following an off-duty incident in Regina involving another member of the RCMP .

That charge was later withdrawn by the Crown following Sabean’s successful completion of the Regina Alternative Measures Program. The program allows offenders to deal with a charge outside the court system and, if the program is successfully completed, avoid a criminal record.

Fenwick’s decision this week means Sabean now has a criminal record.

While the criminal process is now complete (barring a possible appeal), RCMP spokesman Sgt. Paul Dawson said an internal code of conduct review is still underway, following which Sabean – currently suspended with pay – could face additional sanctions from his employer. Generally, such sanctions can range from a monetary penalty to demotion to dismissal.

“I think there’s always concern when there’s any run-in with the law and the fact that there’s been more than one, that’s definitely an aggravating factor,” Dawson said.

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