A member of the Regina Police Service has been charged with impaired driving, after allegedly being involved in a hit and run on Aug. 21.
Regina police say 35-year-old Scott Ash, a constable with nine years of service with RPS, was involved in a collision with another vehicle in the area of Lewvan Drive and Harbour Landing Drive at about 10 p.m. that night.
“There were two vehicles involved. One was north, one was southbound. They were both turning to go west on Harbour Landing Drive, and essentially it was almost like a sideswipe. The two vehicles collided and one vehicle carried on,” explained Dean Rae, RPS deputy chief in a press conference Friday.
There were no injuries due to the collision, but Rae said the “smaller vehicle was towed, so I would assume it was fairly substantial.”
Police officers were dispatched to the area and conducted an investigation which led to his arrest.
Ash is charged with failing to remain on scene of the collision, impaired operation of a conveyance, and exceeding .08.
Rae said the time between the incident and Ash’s arrest was “under a half an hour,” adding, “it unfolded in a fairly quick time frame.”
Ash was not on duty at the time of the incident and Rae confirmed Ash’s intoxication was due to alcohol.
“The community expects us to conduct ourselves to a high standard, and that’s the same within our service. So, when these events occur, it’s concerning to us as a service, but at the end of the day, we’re all human, we all make mistakes, and we all have to remember that.”
Ash does not have any prior charges, according to Rae.
The officer has been placed on a paid administrative leave for the immediate and foreseeable future, according to Rae, and an administrative investigation of this incident is being conducted by the Professional Standards Unit of the Regina Police Service.
The administrative investigation will follow the criminal investigation, and Rae added, “There may be further sanctions at that time.”
Ash will make his first court appearance on the charges in Provincial Court at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 10.