A veteran Chatham-Kent police officer has received a $3,000 fine and is banned from driving for 12 months after he pleaded guilty to impaired driving.
Justice George Orsini handed down Bryan Vaughan's punishment at the Ontario Court of Justice in Chatham on Monday.
Vaughan, 51, of Chatham was arrested at his home on January 5, 2022 and charged with drunk driving and leaving the scene of a crash on Howard Road near Indian Creek Road in Chatham while he was off-duty.
His Charter application was denied last month. Vaughan claimed his Charter rights were breached when he was arrested, but Justice Orsini ruled there were no unreasonable searches and seizures of persons or property. Orsini said the investigation and evidence gathering done by Chatham-Kent police was done properly when officers went to Vaughan's home.
The judge concluded the accused knew the police were there to question him about the collision involving his vehicle, adding it wasn't a surprise visit.
The judge also said he was convinced the discussions took place in the foyer of Vaughan's home and that officers did not enter any other room to gather evidence.
Justice Orsini was convinced Vaughan's wife was not the person driving the vehicle when the crash happened, as alleged by Vaughan.
The arresting officers previously testified that Vaughan appeared "substantially intoxicated" when he answered the front door and had a "fresh" abrasion on his forehead.
The trial could have been stopped by the Crown or ended by the judge, or evidence could have been excluded from the trial if the Charter application was successful, putting the impaired driving charge in jeopardy and possibly allowing the accused officer to walk free.
