Sentence reduced for drunk Guardia Civil

THE Supreme Court has reduced the sentence against a Guardia Civil in Tafalla (Navarra) who went to work drunk, because he consumed the alcohol when he was off duty.

In February 2009, the officer was suspended for six months, but this has now been reduced to four days without pay.

On January 30, 2006, he was meant to be on duty from 10pm to 6am the following day, but he never started the shift because 10 minutes he was in a state of inebriation which required he be relieved of the duty.

His superiors reported he was in an “altered state of mind, smelled of alcohol, couldn’t stand upright or reason coherently, and suffered mood swings and red eyes”.

His weapon was taken away from him and he was sanctioned for a “very serious misdemeanour” for drinking while on duty, but the Supreme Court considers it was only a slight misdemeanour as he was never actually on duty while drunk.