Drink-drive officer is barred from police work

A DISGRACED officer has been barred from working for the police after she drove a force car while over the legal alcohol limit.

PC Cheryl Rudge – who had a 21-year unblemished record – resigned days before a misconduct hearing at DyfedPowys Police headquarters in Carmarthen yesterday. But Chief Constable Mark Collins ruled that, had she not done so, she would have been dismissed.

Mr Collins ordered she be put on a barred list which prohibits her from working in policing in future.

The hearing was told PC Rudge had reported for duty at Brecon police station on Friday, April 12, this year for a shift that started at 6pm. She then drove from the station to Crickhowell and attended a call from the public concerning a missing person.

A colleague noted that she smelled of alcohol and at 8.20pm she provided a positive breath test of 76mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. That is more than twice the legal 35mg limit for driving and nearly six times the threshold of 13mg allowed for on-duty police officers.

On June 6 she was convicted at Llanelli Magistrates’ Court of drink-driving. She was fined and disqualified from driving for 15 months.

PC Rudge did not attend yesterday’s misconduct hearing but, in mitigation, her representative Sergeant Roger Webb of the Police Federation said she had an unblemished record spanning 21 years and she apologised for the offence.

Mr Collins, in delivering his findings, noted PC Rudge had said she had been having difficulties at home concerning both her health and that of her husband.