There was recently a self-inflicted accident in Weite involving a drunk driver – it later emerged that the person responsible was the head of the regional police. In his role, the man is in charge of all four bases and 22 police stations. The man now faces not only legal consequences, but also personnel-related consequences.
Reactions from left and right
Sascha Schmid (SVP) was amazed when he found out who was responsible for the accident. “He is of course only human, but in his role as head of the regional police this is absolutely unacceptable. You have to show exemplary behavior,” Schmid told TVO.
Andrea Scheck (SP) also criticises the behaviour of the person who caused the accident: “It is very unusual for someone who has a lot of responsibility over the other police officers to not abide by the law himself, and even specifically with an act that could have endangered others.”
The SVP and the SP agree: The 63-year-old would no longer be credible in his role as head of the regional police.
The senior police officer who had the accident was not reachable by phone for TVO on Monday. He is on sick leave until further notice. It is not yet known how much alcohol he had in his blood – the result is still pending. What is clear, however, is that the breath alcohol test at the scene of the accident was too high.
Police do not want to gloss over incident
The case casts a bad light on the entire St. Gallen cantonal police. Media spokesperson Hanspeter Krüsi also fears reputational damage – he does not want to gloss over the incident.
“It is quite clear that as a police officer you do not drive while under the influence of alcohol, also because of the role model effect. In addition to the criminal proceedings, we also open an internal procedure,” said Krüsi. The whole incident was annoying: “Even for me as the head of this police force.”
The cantonal security department will ultimately decide what consequences the whole thing will have in terms of personnel law. However, the job is certainly at stake. The presumption of innocence applies.
(cs)
