An on duty Northumbria Police officer who was found drunk in a police van has been found guilty of misconduct in a public office.
Helen Kane, 38, was over three times the legal drink-drive limit when a dog walker found her asleep behind the wheel of a parked police van on November 3, last year. The marked van, which also contained three police dogs, was seen parked in the middle of a junction on Waggs Lane in Whickham, near Gateshead with its engine still running. When the member of the public took a look inside, Kane could be seen "slumped" against the driver side of the car with a bottle of white wine between her legs.
Kane of Belmont, County Durham, stood trial last week at Teesside Crown Court charged with misconduct in a public office - which she denied. But on Friday after less than an hour of deliberation, Kane was found guilty of the charge by a jury.
Read more: Northumbria Police officer who was drunk on duty was going through 'tough times', jury hears
The two day trial heard Kane was an on duty police officer when a dog walker saw a police van parked in the middle of a junction in the middle of the day. Due to the "odd" scene, the dog-walker looked inside and saw Kane "slumped" against the seat belt of the driver's side of the van.
Prosecutor, Robin Turton said: "After several bangs [on the window] the female police officer's head raised up and she wound down the window and had a brief conversation. The officer said she was alright, but when she was told she was parked in the middle of the road, she said: 'Am I?'. Between her legs was a brown wine bottle. When the member of the public was satisfied the driver was OK, she walked off but took a photograph of the police vehicle and phoned 999."
Kane was later breath tested at Southwick Police Station in Sunderland and gave a reading of 117 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath -the legal limit being 35 micrograms.
On the last day of the trial, Kane gave evidence and told the jury she was going through "personal and professional" difficulties at the time and accepted she had been drunk on duty. She told jurors that her professional troubles stemmed from a protest in Newcastle city centre when a member of the public was bitten by a police dog. She said: "My police dog was wrongly identified as that dog. As a result, I was advised by Northumbria Police there was a risk to me." Kane said that due to other issues in her personal life, she went to see a GP regarding her stress and anxiety and was prescribed anti-depressants. She explained she did not like taking time off work and "used alcohol to cope".
The jury heard that Kane had one previous conviction, which was for driving with excess alcohol relating to the same incident - which she had admitted. She had no other convictions or cautions.
Kane will be sentenced on a date which is to be set, but is understood to be in December.
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