Police officer arrested after causing crash with 3.18 per mille alcohol level

A senior inspector with Latvia’s State Police caused a road accident in Aizkraukle Municipality while off duty and later hid, with an alcohol level of 3.18 per mille, LSM reported, citing the State Police.

Police received information about the accident in Sērene, Aizkraukle Municipality, at 8:19 p.m. on July 29. When officers arrived, they found that the driver had left the scene.

While searching for the driver, police established that she was a senior inspector with the State Police. She was found at her private property at 10:01 p.m. in a state of severe intoxication and taken to a temporary detention facility.

The woman, who was born in 1976, had been driving a BMW when she lost control, left the roadway and entered a ditch. No other road users were involved, and no one was physically injured.

A criminal investigation and an internal inquiry have been launched by the State Police. The criminal investigation will subsequently be transferred to the Internal Security Bureau for further investigation.

State Police Chief Armands Ruks told LETA that the officer had around 30 years of service and had previously been described as a disciplined and quiet employee with no prior disciplinary violations. He said it was not yet known why she had acted in this way.

The criminal case was launched under Article 262, Clause 11 of the Criminal Law for driving a vehicle when the alcohol concentration detected in exhaled air or blood exceeds 1.5 per mille. The offence is punishable by up to one year in prison, short-term imprisonment or probation supervision, along with the loss of driving rights for five years.

An administrative offence procedure was also launched over causing the road accident, under the Road Traffic Law for unjustifiably entering the opposite lane or leaving the roadway in a way that endangers traffic safety. The offence carries a warning or a fine of between 25 and 140 euros for the driver.