A former Met officer who drank an entire litre bottle of vodka before getting behind the wheel and crashing into another car near Stansted Airport would have been dismissed had he still been serving, a misconduct panel has ruled.
Leon McCalister, 47, was arrested by Essex Police following the collision, which involved his Mercedes, on 10 July. He was off duty at the time.
After his arrest he was taken to Harlow police station, where he provided two breath specimens. The lower reading showed 141 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath — more than four times the legal limit of 35 microgrammes.
An accelerated misconduct hearing was told that, in a prepared statement, McCalister admitted buying a one-litre bottle of vodka and drinking it on his way home.
He was charged the day after the crash and later pleaded guilty to drink-driving in August. He is due to be sentenced at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court in November.
The hearing was chaired by Assistant Commissioner Rachel Williams, who found that his actions breached the standards of professional behaviour relating to discreditable conduct and amounted to gross misconduct.
In her ruling, she said police officers are expected to uphold the law both on and off duty, and that the public would not expect a serving officer to engage in criminal conduct.
The panel assessed both his culpability and the harm caused as high, noting that he was responsible for his own behaviour and had crashed into a member of the public’s vehicle while heavily over the alcohol limit.
The Met officer Stansted crash is the latest misconduct case to come before a panel, following the conviction of Inspector Michael Richards, a Met officer found guilty of sexual assault.
Because McCalister had already left the force, the panel could not dismiss him. Instead, it concluded that had he remained a serving officer, he would have been dismissed without notice.
He will now be added to the College of Policing’s barred list, which prevents him from working in policing in the future.
He is not the first former Met officer to make headlines this year — an ex-sergeant recently won more than £10,000 in a race discrimination case against the force.
Drink-drive limits and penalties
In England and Wales, the drink-drive limit is 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. Drivers suspected of drink-driving are normally asked to provide two specimens at the police station, with the lower reading used as the basis for any charge.
Motorists caught over the limit face a minimum 12-month driving ban, an unlimited fine and up to six months in prison. Courts treat high readings, collisions and previous convictions as aggravating factors when passing sentence. In the most serious cases, drivers may also have to pass an extended retest before their licence is returned.
How police misconduct hearings work
Accelerated misconduct hearings are used where the facts of a case are largely undisputed and the allegation, if proven, could justify dismissal without the need for a full hearing. They allow forces to deal with the most serious cases swiftly.
Where an officer has already resigned or retired, a panel cannot impose dismissal — but it can still formally rule that the officer would have been sacked had they remained in service. A finding of gross misconduct leads to the officer being placed on the College of Policing’s barred list, a national register that stops them being employed by any UK police force in future.
The Stansted crash is not the only recent police collision to cause serious injury — four officers were taken to hospital after two police cars collided while responding to a call in Hayes.
