Cpl. Darren Baker was ordered Thursday to forfeit 10 days’ pay after he admitted at the hearing to driving under the influence of alcohol in December 2007.
The punishment is the most severe Baker could have received without being fired or demoted.
Still, it could have been a lot worse.
The officer was facing a criminal charge of impaired driving last year after he was pulled over for erratic driving in West Vancouver.
The charge was eventually stayed in January because Crown prosecutors overlooked a request by the defence to provide a key piece of evidence — a videotape of the West Vancouver police cellblock where Baker’s breathalyzer sample was taken.
By the time the mistake was realized, the tape had been recycled.
B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal said in January he was disappointed by the stayed charges.
The case gained prominence because RCMP headquarters only revealed last October that Baker had been charged with impaired driving, 10 months after the incident. They blamed the delay in disclosure on a communications breakdown.
The case was one of four incidents involving Lower Mainland-area police officers that were revealed last fall.
