Former Assistant Police Commissioner to be charged with drunk driving hit-and-run

Former Assistant Police Commissioner Mario Tonna is to be charged in relation to a drink-driving hit and run incident in November after his court sitting was postponed yesterday morning.

Tonna was expected to be arraigned by summons yesterday morning following a car accident which occurred in March this year, but when the case was called, one of the lawyers was unable to appear. Magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace put the case off till November.

The traffic accident in question is understood to have occurred as Tonna was driving through Sliema where he was allegedly involved in a crash involving three or four cars. He was eventually found by the police at his home and taken to a police station for a breathalyser test.

Tonna made the headlines in January when he was arrested following a report of domestic violence filed by his partner, who accused the officer of headbutting her. The woman had filed a report at the Sliema police station on December 28 alleging that Tonna had physically assaulted her during an argument. Tonna subsequently resigned from the force.

Although the woman had told the police that it was not the first assault she had suffered at his hands and that he had a serious drinking problem, she had withdrawn the criminal complaint and so no further action was taken.

In his last posting, Tonna had been responsible for coordinating traffic in the country, as well as being in charge for the police garage and mechanical transport section.

This is not Tonna’s first brush with the law. Back in 2011, Tonna, a police inspector at the time, had been found guilty intimidating and harassing his superior, Superintendent Carmelo Bartolo, among other offences.

His criminal record notwithstanding, Tonna was promoted to the role of superintendent in the summer of 2015 and then given the role of assistant commissioner last June.