Police officer who failed to charge his wife with drink driving despite her being three times the limit after crashing her car is fined $2,500
- Benjamin Shannon has been stood down from police force and fined $2,500
- His ex-wife crashed car while driving nearly three times over blood alcohol limit
- Shannon did not use the breathalyser correctly and failed to charge her
A police officer has been fined $2,500 and stood down after failing to charge his wife with drink driving after she crashed her car while nearly three times over the legal blood alcohol limit.
Senior Constable Benjamin Stewart Shannon, 28, was called to Mount Louisa in Townsville, in far-north Queensland, by his then-wife, Amber Rose Shannon, after she crashed her car in June 2019.
Shannon arrived at the scene and breath tested his now ex-wife while another officer stayed in the police vehicle.
She blew 0.14 but Shannon had put the breathalyser in 'training mode' which meant the reading couldn't be downloaded properly.
He then failed to charge her for the offence.
A Queensland policeman has been fined $2,500 and stood down after failing to charge his wife with drink driving after she crashed while nearly three times over the legal blood alcohol limit (file image)
On Tuesday, Shannon pleaded guilty to one count of refusal by a public officer to perform his duty at Townsville Magistrates Court, the ABC reported.
Police prosecutor Mark Fenlon said Shannon defied his duties as a police officer.
'It was inconsistent with his duties as a police officer to not pass the investigation to someone else, and further it was inconsistent with his duties to breathalyse his wife, and further use the device in training mode,' he said.
Shannon's lawyer, Steve Zillman, said he didn't know his wife had been drinking at the time of the crash and denied his client had tried to conceal her results.
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'On the return to the [police] vehicle, my client has said 'she's f**king pissed and she's crashed the car',' he said.
After being involved in a police investigation, Shannon was stood down from his role in the Queensland Police Service.
Mr Zillman said he had also been battling mental health problems and significant stress from his family.
After being stood down, Shannon suffered a loss of $8,000 and was publicly humiliated.
Magistrate Cathy Wadley said Shannon should have organised for another officer to breath test his former partner.
'No one is exempt from being tested at the roadside,' she said.
No conviction was recorded.
