Police officer ‘sacked after riding e-scooter while drunk on holiday’
A British police officer was dismissed after he was allegedly caught riding an e-scooter while drunk at the Oktoberfest.
An officer with the British Transport Police faced a gross misconduct hearing after the alleged incident in Munich last year.
The hearing outlined how PC Samuel Booty is thought to have ridden an e-scooter on October 5 last year while off duty in the south German city known for its annual beer festival.
He was stopped by the German police while riding under the influence after festival, who carried out a roadside breath test and a sample, it heard.
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The result allegedly showed he was around four times over the legal limit in Germany and around 2.7 times over the limit in England.
His blood sample came back with 2.15g/l alcohol concentration, the hearing alleged.
In Germany, the legal limit is 0.5g/l, with 1.1g/l and above carrying a large fine or jail.
Riding an e-scooter drunk is a criminal offence in the UK and Germany.
Three days after the alleged incident, PC Booty, who served in Exeter, told the force about it in an email, saying he had accepted ‘riding an e-scoter whilst under the influence of alcohol’ and that he had paid a fine.
In the email, he accepted responsibility and wrote that the incident ‘falls below the values I hold myself by,’ the panel said.
He resigned before the hearing, which was held on April 14.
His superiors said that had he not resigned, his actions would have amounted to gross misconduct and he would have been immediately dismissed.
Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi said: ‘Breaking the law is fundamentally incompatible with upholding it, and in this case the officer committed a criminal offence which involved operating a vehicle in a public place while over the legal limit.
‘Behaviour like this fundamentally undermines public trust and confidence, and is incompatible with the standards expected of a police officer.
‘Policing depends on public confidence, which is why I have taken the decision that had he not resigned, PC Booty would have been dismissed with immediate effect.’
The Chief Constable, who chaired the misconduct hearing, said mitigating factors were that the incident was short, PC Booty made his admission at an early stage and showed genuine remorse.
She wrote in the report: ‘The officer alone chose to drive an e-scooter having consumed alcohol whilst on holiday in Germany at Oktoberfest.
‘I consider his actions to have been deliberate, and he bears full culpability for them.
‘I note that he suggests that many others were also riding e-scooters back to their hotels too. This point has no bearing on his own actions but serves to illustrate a lack of awareness of the personal responsibility he holds as a police officer.’
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