CBC News
Related news: 2 Ohio officers charged with drunk driving in 2 days
TORONTO, Canada — A veteran Toronto police detective is facing drunk-driving charges after being arrested in the middle of the night along highway 400 driving an unmarked police van.
T he alleged incident occurred on July 25 when an OPP officer on highway patrol south of Barrie began tailing a van heading south on the highway.
According to an OPP occurrence report, the officer noted the vehicle weaving across lanes and failing to signal lane changes, so the officer pulled the driver over, only to learn that Det. Danny Ross of the Toronto holdup squad was behind the wheel.
The report said the patrol officer noted the smell of alcohol. The officer charged Ross with driving under the influence and having a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit.
A Toronto police supervisor was called to the scene to take Ross home and pick up the police van, CBC News has learned.
Toronto police never issued a news release about Ross’s arrest and wouldn’t answer questions about what the detective was doing in Barrie in the middle of the night with a police vehicle. Multiple sources have told CBC News that Ross was off duty.
CBC News has learned that Ross has been transferred out of the holdup squad to a desk job and has been put on notice that he’ll likely face internal discipline.
Ross did not return phone calls from CBC News and has not had a chance to respond to the charges.
Copyright 2007 CBC News
1