An award-winning Isle of Wight police sergeant was caught drink driving after she stayed up into the early hours doing her policing work while drinking wine, a misconduct hearing was told.
Special Police Sergeant Claire Mumford – who served with Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary as a volunteer officer for 8 years – claimed she felt ‘pressure’ to get her reports done at home and stayed up late completing them while drinking wine.
The 47-year-old mother-of-3 had drunk more than a bottle by the time she eventually went to bed, it was heard at last week’s misconduct hearing at Police HQ in Eastleigh.
In a career-ending move, S/Sgt Mumford took to the wheel the next morning but stated she did not feel hungover. She was pulled over in the Niton area of the South Wight just after 11:00 while driving her minivan, going on to blow 54 on the evidential breathalyser – the legal limit being 35.
The misconduct hearing was told that the afternoon before she was caught drink driving, S/Sgt Mumford drank a bottle of wine before falling asleep.
However, she woke up at 23:45 as she was so stressed with all the police paperwork that she had to complete. She then stayed up late into the night drinking wine before driving into work the following morning, without having any breakfast.
At around 11:00 the next day she received a call saying her teenage daughter had been bitten by a dog and needed to be taken to A&E. She was then pulled over by a Roads Policing Officer.
She has now been dismissed by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary, although she previously resigned from the force as a result of the incident on 13th March.
S/Sgt Mumford did not attend last week’s hearing, but provided a statement apologising and taking responsibility for her actions.
S/Sgt Mumford was in 2022 awarded for her volunteer police work, having picked up an accolade with colleagues for being the ‘Special Constabulary Team of the Year’. She has been described as a ‘remarkable volunteer’.
She also volunteered for a local women’s rugby team and was praised for her voluntary service to the community.
Investigation Officer Detective Sergeant Chris Whittington said:
“On March 13 while off duty she drove a motor vehicle having consumed so alcohol that she was over the legal limit.
“PC Ball was on patrol at around 11:45am when he pulled over a Volkswagen Transporter near Knighton, and identified the sole driver.
“She was breathlysed and the result came back as 54mg per 100ml of breath. She was then arrested and taken to Newport Police Station.
“She was subsequently charged with driving a motor vehicle while over the legal limit and was bailed to appear at Newport Magistrates’ Court on April 8.
“She resigned over the next few days and entered a guilty plea and was given a ban and a fine.
“She said she was devastated by her actions and accepts responsibility but did not have any idea that she was still over the limit.
“She had many years on the force and feels ashamed that it ended this way. She now accepts the allegation and accepts that it is a breach of standards that leads to gross misconduct.”
Stuart Freeston, Deputy Conduct and Performance Officer for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police Federation, represented S/Sgt Mumford. He read out her statement, saying:
“I am ashamed and embarrassed by what happened.
“I am a single parent to three children, aged 18, 16 and 15, all of whom were home educated by myself for different reasons.
“Supporting them became difficult especially as I am the sole driver in the family, with both my parents unable to drive.
“I have set up a group in the area for children with special needs and have risen up the ranks at the police over the last eight years, taking over leadership roles.
“I also received a nomination for special constable of the year in 2022 and have done countless hours on foot patrol.
“I ran the London Marathon last year and have taken part in several other running events.
“While off duty I was suffering with a mental health crisis. The incident left me shocked as I would not consider driving if I had any idea that I was over the limit.
“It was totally out of character and a genuine mistake. I have no previous convictions.
“Normally I have rugby training on a Wednesday but I wanted to get my reports done. I drank a bottle of wine over a four hour period before falling asleep.
“I woke up at about 11:30pm and felt pressure to get on with my work.
“I had a couple of glasses of wine and did not think about what I had had and then had no breakfast in the morning.
“I was not feeling hungover.
“My daughter called to say she had been bitten by a dog and needed to got to A&E which was when I was pulled over and breathlysed.
“I had an impeccable record prior to this and I am sorry for my actions and accept the sentencing.
“I have many happy memories of the constabulary and so sorry that it ended this way.”
Tony Rowlinson, Assistant Chief Constable of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, who led the investigation said:
“The special sergeant is culpable as she was driving the vehicle over the limit.
“I want to thank you for the level of service you have given to the constabulary.
“You have done a remarkable amount of community work and I thank you for that. This is a tragic case which has ended in you being found guilty of drunk driving.
“To uphold the standards of the force I judge that she would have been dismissed had she been a serving officer.”
Claire Mumford appeared at Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court on 8th April for sentencing on the criminal charges, where she pleaded guilty to drink driving and was handed a 12-month driving ban and a fine.
It would be interesting to learn why the lady was pulled over. Did she commit a motoring offence and the officer noted signs of drinking…or was it a random stop?
Oh, bless her! Sorry luv, I really do sympathise but it doesn’t quite work like that.
That’s the face of an old soak.