Just days after being found not guilty of impaired driving in connection with a separate incident, an RCMP officer in northern Alberta has been charged with the same offence.
Police said officers were dispatched to a convenience store in High Prairie, Alta. on June 1 after someone reported seeing a woman they suspected was impaired by alcohol drive into the store’s parking lot and enter the business.
The RCMP said the witness told them they were “unsuccessful in convincing her to turn over her vehicle keys.”
“Upon arrival, the attending officers recognized the suspected impaired driver as being Cpl. Anita Doktor, who was subsequently investigated and charged for impaired driving,” the RCMP said in a news release on Monday afternoon.
Police said Doktor has been suspended with pay and that her duty status will be subject to ongoing reviews.
“Maintaining the public trust is one of the key components of policing”, said Rhonda Blackmore, district commander for the RCMP’s Western Alberta District. “Any conduct that could harm the public’s trust and confidence in their police is taken very seriously.”
Court records show Doktor was found not guilty of impaired operation in High Prairie on May 28 in connection with a separate incident in December 2016. Her co-workers testified they believed she may have been impaired by alcohol after they called her in to work as a breath technician while they investigated a suspected impaired driver. Doktor was off-duty at the time.
Even though the judge said there was “clearly evidence of consumption of alcohol on the part of the accused on the date in question,” she found Doktor not guilty, saying, “the Crown has not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused was operating a motor vehicle while her ability to do so was impaired by alcohol.”
Court records show Doktor was found not guilty of impaired operation in High Prairie on May 28 in connection with a separate incident.
Police said Doktor is a member of the McLennan RCMP detachment.
McLennan, Alta. is located about 420 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.