A Wiltshire police community support officer (PCSO) caught drink driving on duty has been banned from policing for life.
57-year-old Neil Turnbull pleaded guilty to driving a police car under the influence of excess alcohol when he appeared at Swindon Magistrates’ Court on 16 August.
The defendant, of Goose Street, Marston, near Devizes, provided an evidential reading of 44 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.
As previously reported, Turnbull resigned from his role with Wiltshire Police after he was suspended following his arrest for the offence in Salisbury in March this year.
In court, he was handed a 12-month driving ban and told to pay a £500 fine.
He would have been immediately dismissed from the force had he not already resigned, a gross misconduct hearing has concluded. Turnbull was also added to the College of Policing Barred Advisory List.
Detective Inspector Adam Leakey said: “Clearly, the actions of Mr Turnbull fly in the face of the standards the public rightly expect from us.
“As a direct result of his actions, he could have posed a significant risk to the public, his colleagues and himself.
“A gross misconduct investigation has now taken place which confirmed Mr Turnbull’s actions amounted to gross misconduct and he has been added to the College Barred List which means he will never be able to pursue a career in policing again.”
