Drink-drive detective sacked from police force

A DRINK-DRIVE detective who left the scene of an accident and hid has been sacked by the police.

Detective Constable Matthew Smith, described as an “exemplary officer” by colleagues in Greater Manchester Police (GMP), was twice the drink-drive limit when he drove after a drinking session with friends.

His car struck a “glancing” blow to a vehicle driven by a member of the public as it left the motorway in

Bury, Greater Manchester, in the early hours of September 8 last year.

He then left the scene and when an off-duty police officer came across the accident he found his colleague hiding.

The details were given at a Special Case Gross Misconduct Hearing, chaired by GMP Chief Constable Ian Hopkins and held via video conference, to determine if the officer should keep his job.

DC Smith failed a breath test at the roadside, giving a reading of 78 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, the hearing was told. The legal limit is 35 micrograms.

The officer, a single parent and father of two, subsequently admitted drink-driving at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court last October and was banned from the roads for 18 months and fined £700.

Gareth Madgwick, a solicitor for

GMP, told the hearing the force would be justified in dismissing him, as the officer had been convicted of a criminal offence.

Mr Madgwick said the public expect the “highest standards” from officers and the crash could have been “extremely serious”.

DC Smith admitted his behaviour amounted to gross misconduct and a breach of the police’s own professional standards rules.