Even police need to cut loose every now and then. If you’ve ever watched television, you’re led to believe that cutting loose means meeting at the local pub and tying a few on. But one off-duty police officer has been convicted of multiple charges related to a drunken driving crash.
A Staten Island cop who was off-duty at the time of a drunken crash that killed a pedestrian was convicted of criminally negligent homicide last Friday.
32-year-old Joseph McClean, a police officer, was also convicted of leaving the scene of an accident without reporting and DUI. The conviction stems from charges relating to an Oct. 4, 2013, crash that killed William (Bruce) Hemphill.
51-year-old Hemphill was crossing Simpson Avenue near Richmond Terrace making his way to work. McClean rammed his car into him at about 6:15 that morning.
McClean sped off after the accident. However, he returned about 30 minutes later and was arrested.
The following investigation revealed that McClean went out drinking after his shift ended at midnight that Friday. He was highly intoxicated at the time of the accident.
A jury convicted McClean on all five counts he had been charged with following a five-week trial.
McClean’s sentencing is set to occur on December 12. He can face up to seven years in prison for leaving the scene and four years for criminally negligent homicide.
McClean was suspended by the police department prior to the trial. Now that he has been convicted, the New York Police Department is taking steps to terminate his employment.
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