Toronto-area cop who hit OPP officer with car while drunk handed temporary demotion

A Durham police officer will face a one-year demotion after he was convicted of impaired driving in an incident in which he hit another officer with his vehicle.

The decision was handed down to Det. Const. Paul Twiddy with the Durham Regional Police Service after a May disciplinary hearing in Oshawa, Ont. in which he pleaded guilty to one count of discreditable conduct.

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The findings come after Twiddy, who has been with the service for 17 years, was criminally convicted of impaired driving last year. On the evening of Sept 8, 2023, Twiddy drove his vehicle into an Ontario Provincial Police officer who was investigating a separate collision in the area of 912 Frankford Road in Quinte West, according to an agreed statement of facts.

The other officer sustained a minor injury.

Following the collision, OPP officers at the scene detected a “faint odour” of alcohol from Twiddy and asked him to submit a sample into a roadside screening device. He complied and failed, according to the document.

Twiddy was arrested and charged with one count of impaired operation of a vehicle, one count of impaired driving with a blood alcohol concentration over 80 mg, and one count of dangerous driving. He subsequently pleaded guilty to impaired driving over 80 mg, and the two additional charges were withdrawn. As part of his conviction, the officer was handed a one-year driving prohibition and was ordered to pay a $2,500 fine.

In being found guilty of a criminal offence, Twiddy was automatically charged under the Police Services Act with professional misconduct in February.

In the disciplinary decision, released on June 4, Hearing Officer Robert F. Gould said he could reasonably conclude “on clear, convincing, and cogent evidence" that the misconduct had been proven.

In turn, Twiddy will undergo a 12-month demotion, from first-class constable to second-class constable, set to take effect when he returns to work from an ongoing medical leave.