NEWS RELEASE
YORK REGIONAL POLICE
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York Regional Police has charged an off-duty officer with impaired driving following a minor single-vehicle collision in the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville.
On Friday, May 24, 2019 just after 5:30 a.m., a concerned citizen called police after a vehicle went off the roadway and struck a guardrail in the area of Ninth Line and Cedarvale Boulevard in Whitchurch-Stouffville. There were no injuries. The driver of the vehicle, Const. Paul Thompson, has been charged with impaired driving.
Const. Thompson, 38, of the Town of Newmarket, has been a member of York Regional Police since 2006. He has previously worked in as a uniform patrol officer in #5 District and is currently working out of #3 District. He has been placed on administrative duties.
“York Regional Police is committed to transparency and is accountable to our community,” Chief Jolliffe said. “When we charge a member with a criminal offence, that information is released to our community as a part of that commitment.”
Our service has made consistent and ongoing efforts to stop impaired driving on our roads through enforcement and education, including the creation of a variety of public education campaigns aimed at further engaging our community in this fight.
Earlier this week, York Regional Police temporarily suspended the release of names of all drivers charged with impaired driving as we review the process and analyze the data to determine if the practice has resulted in reduced incidents of impaired driving.
We thank our citizens for their commitment to community safety who have called in under our Safe Roads: Your Call program, which encourages citizens to call 9-1-1 if they suspect an impaired driver. We consider these incidents a life-threatening crime in progress and will respond to these calls, as we did to this incident.
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