Off-duty police officer charged with drink driving twice in the same day

The 53-year old male’s employment status is under review.

Ellie Chamberlain
February 23, 2026

An off-duty police sergeant was charged twice with alleged drink driving on Saturday – mid-range in the morning in Woolgoolga and high-range in the evening in Coffs Harbour.

The second incident, which occurred in the evening, reportedly involved police responding to members of the public detaining the motorist themselves.

What happened: Around 11.30am on Saturday a 53-year-old male sergeant attached to a Northern Region Command was stopped on the Pacific Highway, in Coffs Harbour, for a roadside breath test, which allegedly came back positive.

The man was arrested and taken to Woolgoolga Police Station where another breath test returned a reading of 0.131.
In NSW, the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit is under 0.05 for full licence holders.

Mid-range: The man was charged with mid-range drink driving and had his driver’s licence suspended.

Then what happened: About 9.15pm the same day, officers responded to reports that members of the public had detained a motorist on Red Rock Road after he was seen driving dangerously.

The driver – alleged to be the same off-duty officer– then underwent a roadside breath test that returned a positive reading.

He was arrested and taken to Coffs Harbour Police Station where he returned a breath analysis reading of 0.191.

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High-range: The man was charged with high-range drink driving and driving with a suspended licence.

What next: He was granted conditional bail and will appear before Coffs Harbour Local Court in April for both incidents.

The officer’s employment status is currently under review.

Thumbnail: Unsplash / Scott Rodgerson