The Virginian-Pilot
©
VIRGINIA BEACH
A Beach police sergeant pleaded no contest Thursday to drunken driving in a February incident.
James Eric Riddick, 38, had appealed a prior conviction in General District Court to Circuit Court.
Circuit Judge Edward W. Hanson Jr. sentenced Riddick on Thursday to six months but suspended that time.
He also fined him $1,000, sentenced him to perform 100 hours of community service and restricted his license for a year, according to Macie Pridgen, a spokeswoman for Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey Bryant's office.
Riddick, a 16-year department veteran, will also have to take alcohol education classes.
A state trooper stopped Riddick at about 11:16 p.m. on Feb. 7. He was driving on Interstate 264 near the Independence Boulevard exit.
Riddick is still on administrative duty pending the outcome of an internal investigation, according to Officer Adam Bernstein, a police spokesman.
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Yahoo
A mistake..
The man should get the same treatment/sentence as others in his situation. No more....no less!
And..prairiedog.....cut out the donut jokes. Cops don't eat donuts....more work out alot. How much do YOU weigh?
Police Drunk and Driving
He should be punished with absolutely no difference then anyone else. Or maybe even punished more severely for being such a hypocrite!
Actually....
He will be punished more severely than the average citizen; in addition to the fines and community service, he will face administrative charges from the police department which may include suspension without pay and/or demotion. How many other professions/lines of employment involve sanctions such as these following a drunk driving conviction?
And yes, he IS solely responsible for making the choices he did.....
Sailors...
Are charged and receive the punishment from the civilian courts and in addition are punished by the Navy as well. This punishment is often more severe than the civilian courts. Example, I took a young man to court for DUI. He received 5 days in jail, (mandatory) a $2000 fine and suspended license for 1 year (with a drive to work, school and home rider) which required a "breathe analyzer" device be installed on every vehicle he owned or drove.
The Navy "awarded" him 45 days restriction (incarceration to the ship), 45 days of extra duty (extra work after normal work for the day), Reduction in rate and forfeiture of 1/2 months pay for 2 months. He received this "award" and performed it all before his civilian court date.
Re Sailors
You are of course correct - I did not mean to imply that law enforcement officers were the only ones subject to further penalties above and beyond those imposed by the court.
He Was
He was punished just like every other first time DUI offender in Va Beach. Even the person that hit me and ruined my life received the standard 1st offender disposition. He received no special treatment in court. He will also lose his job because of this.
James Eric Riddick
Bad cop...bad cop...no more free donuts for you!
Judges
are way to lenient on drunk drivers. Make it a procedure, if a judge lets someone off with no jail time, the judge is called at home the very next time the person is arrested. This guy should go to jail, he should have known better and he should not be working, being paid from my tax dollars.
Bust him to a daytime patrol officer.Very few drunks on the road
Bust him to a daytime patrol officer and require backup on all DUI arrests. No need to fire him. Punishment served.
Tisk Tisk
I feel human now.