A Vancouver Police Department officer is set to face a complaint review after he received a five-day suspension for drunk driving.
Const. Samuel Cheung was arrested in 2022 after hitting another vehicle while off-duty and under the influence of alcohol.
Cheung was charged with two criminal offences, but was sentenced with a lesser charge under the motor vehicle act.
The B.C. Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) says Cheung will now face a review on the record.
According to the OPCC website, “this type of review is where a retired judge is appointed to conduct a ‘paper review’ of the entire matter, deliver a decision of whether there is misconduct and, if substantiated, determine the corrective and/or disciplinary measures to be imposed. The retired judge’s decision is final and conclusive.”
The Commissioner’s office says it believes Cheung did not receive adequate punishment for the incident.
In a notice of the review, the Commissioner’s office said the review was necessary due to to the seriousness of the alleged crime.
“Impaired driving continues to be one of the leading causes of death in society. The attention given to address this issue by the courts and Canadian laws demonstrate the seriousness of such conduct,” said the notice.
The Commissioner’s office said ignoring such a case would be an “affront to the public trust.”