Officer pleads guilty to driving drunk

She was off-duty when she hit a snowbank

An Edmonton Police Service officer who crashed her vehicle into a snowbank and then passed out behind the wheel while off-duty pleaded guilty Friday to drunk driving.

Const. Kelly Fradley, an eight-year member of the service, pleaded guilty to one count of driving with a blood-alcohol level over .08. Court heard Fradley drove with a blood-alcohol level nearly four times the legal limit.

The 34-year-old officer struck a snowbank near 111th Street and Ellerslie Road around 5 p.m. on Nov. 18, 2013. Crown prosecutor Daniel Brunnen told court that two witnesses then tried to help push her Ford Escape free of the snow.

“While they were doing this, they noticed the driver seemed to be going in and out of consciousness,” Brunnen said. Those witnesses called police.

When officers arrived, they noticed Fradley had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. After two attempts to perform a breathalyzer test failed, Fradley was taken to a hospital where her blood was drawn several hours after the accident.

Court heard her blood-alcohol level was .31.

“That is well over the legal limit,” Brunnen told court.

At the time, Fradley was on leave from the police service to deal with personal issues.

“Mrs. Fradley has no recall about the event,” defence lawyer Michael Danyliuk told court.

Court heard that Fradley has since undergone treatment for her addiction and continues to do so.

Provincial Court Judge James Wheatley agreed to give Fradley a curative discharge as long as she continues treatment.

Outside court, Brunnen said that Fradley’s medical condition meant that a curative discharge “wasn’t against the public interest.”

Under a curative discharge, the officer will not have a criminal record if she obeys court-ordered conditions. Curative discharges are used in impaired cases where the accused has a diagnosed addictions issue they have sought help for.

Fradley will be on probation, and banned from driving, for a year.