By Charlene Tebbutt

Trial starts for P.A. Police officer charged with impaired driving

Apr 26, 2018 | 5:51 PM

A Prince Albert police officer is on trial facing an impaired driving charge stemming from an alleged incident last year.

Brett Lee Henry is facing one count of impaired driving stemming from an incident in March of 2017. Henry, a 13-year officer with the Prince Albert Police Service, was charged following an extensive police investigation that started after police received a civilian tip about an impaired driver.

Henry pleaded not guilty to the charge.

His trial started Thursday at Prince Albert Provincial Court, where Prince Albert Police Staff Sgt. Brent McDonald testified to video evidence he collected during the investigation into the allegation. Surveillance video shown in court Thursday appears to show Henry visiting three local establishments the night of the alleged incident, starting around 5:45 p.m. on March 2, 2017.

McDonald testified that five schooners of beer were delivered to Henry’s table, where a number of current and retired local police officers had gathered for a fellow officer’s going-away party. Later that same evening, video appears to show Henry arriving at a second location, where McDonald testified that several doubles were seen being prepared and delivered to a table Henry was seated at with several others. Henry appears to knock a glass off the table while leaving the second location, and is then allegedly seen outside the venue walking toward a car.

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A second man is next seen on the video walking toward the same car and opening the passenger door before walking away seconds later. Moments after the car drives away, a taxi pulls up at the entrance.

At a third location in Prince Albert, McDonald testified that he did not see Henry consume any drinks of any kind. When asked by defence lawyer Michael Owens to describe Henry’s level of intoxication during the evening and into the morning of March 3, 2017, McDonald testified that Henry appears to stumble into the wall upon entering one location, and is then seen using his left arm to “brace” himself against the bar once inside.

“I believe that he was likely impaired,” McDonald said.

On further questioning from Owens, McDonald said it was difficult from the video to “determine or observe actual drinking of any beverages” from the video evidence. McDonald said there were also no “driving impairment indicators” of the car in the video, and the car was parked properly when police located it outside a pub the next morning.

The trial is scheduled to continue Friday morning and several more witnesses are expected to testify. Henry has been on paid administrative leave since last July, when the impaired driving charge was laid.

Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt

EDITOR’S NOTE: Commenting on this story is closed now that the matter is before court.