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Impaired driving charges up this year: police

42 people have been charged so far in 2020
TimminsToday Staff
2018-05-16 Timmins Police RIDE3 MH
A Timmins Police constable talks talks to a driver at a RIDE stop. Maija Hoggett/TimminsToday

NEWS RELEASE
TIMMINS POLICE SERVICE
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So far this year, the Timmins Police Service has charged a total of 42 persons with impaired driving related offences stemming from incidents that result in collisions or are the direct result of obedient roadway patrols.

Of these 42 persons charged under the Criminal Code with Impaired Operation of a Motor Vehicle, 19 were deemed to be under the incapacitating influence of controlled substances.

These determinations are based on either onsite analysis or testing procedures conducted at police station by Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) officers with the Timmins Police Service.

This translates into a disturbing statistic indicating that 45 per cent of persons arrested and charged with Impaired Operation of a Motor Vehicle had ingested some form of a controlled substance prior to driving.

In some cases, the motorist is intoxicated based of a combination of the ingestion of narcotics and the consumption of alcohol.

While not all charges have been proven in court, the remaining 23 charged persons were under the exclusive influence of alcohol.

Comparatively, for the same time period of between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30 in 2018, the Timmins Police Service charged a total of 31 persons with Impaired Operation contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada.

Additionally, for the same time period of between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30 in 2019, the Timmins Police Service charged a total of 32 persons with Impaired Operation contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada.

The marked trend upwards so far this year can be attributed to a number of potential factors:  

  • An increased number of Timmins Police Service officers trained on drug recognition techniques and applying those skills to locate impaired drivers.  
  • A greater number of persons calling in suspected impaired driving situations 
  • A perceived false or misguided perception regarding the level of impairment achievable with the consumption of even modest amounts of any controlled substances.

Whatever the cause for the increase, the Timmins Police view this as a disturbing trend in regards to public safety.

Timmins Police Traffic Sergeant Thomas Chypyha adds, “There appears to be an obvious failure to recognize the dangers attached to engaging in impaired driving of any kind – alcohol or narcotic related. From a law enforcement perspective, taking to the road after having consumed any substance that impairs or adversely alters a person’s ability to operate a motor vehicle alertly and responsibly definitely meets the threshold of a criminal act. The Timmins Police Service continues to address roadway safety as a top priority. The outcomes linked to this type of activity are often tragic and always preventable.”

On Sept. 15, a suspected impaired driver who had lost consciousness while at the wheel was reported to the Timmins Police during the morning hours in a residential neighborhood of Porcupine.

Responding Timmins Police officers located a male subject displaying signs of impairment and being generally incoherent in the driver’s seat of a passenger vehicle. Quantities of controlled substances were located within the vehicle as the driver was being arrested.

He was later subjected to Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) analysis at the Timmins Police station.

Based on the outcome of that testing procedure, Jeffrey Deblois, 47, of Timmins has been charged with: 

  • Impaired Operation of a Motor Vehicle contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada 
  • Two (2) counts of Possession o a Controlled Substance contrary to the Controlled Drug and Substances Act

He was released from custody on the strength of an Undertaking requiring him to attend Provincial Court in Timmins on Oct. 20 to answer to the charges laid against him.

On Sept. 17, a suspected impaired driver who had struck a parked car on Tamarack Street at approximately 9:05 a.m.

Responding Timmins Police officers located a male subject displaying clear signs of impairment.

The driver was arrested and subjected to Intoxylizer breath testing procedures at the Timmins Police station.

Based on the outcome of the breath test procedures, Wendell Friday, 28, of Timmins has been charged with:  

  • Impaired Operation of a Motor Vehicle contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada  
  • Operate a Motor Vehicle – Concentration Greater than 80 mgs of Alcohol in 100 Mls of Blood contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada

He was released from custody on the strength of an Undertaking requiring him to attend Provincial Court in Timmins on Oct. 6 to answer to the charges laid against him.

The Timmins Police view each of these incidents to be preventable, irresponsible and inherently dangerous.

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