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An RCMP officer who’s been honoured in the past for keeping impaired drivers off the road will appear in court this week, charged with excessive speeding.

It appears the behavior was the result of a “prank” on his fellow officers.

Corporal Michael Arbulic is being accused of intentionally racing through a speed trap on Highway 1 while off duty.

It is unclear just how fast he was going, but it was at least 40 km/hr above the speed limit, because he has since been charged with excessive speeding.

Global News first learned about the incident back in February, but the RCMP denied any knowledge of it.

At the time, Arbulic was not penalized or fined in any way.

Global News has since learned that the internal Professional Standards Unit has been investigating the incident and has recommended the charge of excessive speeding.

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Arbulic is a member of Alexa’s Team, a special group of officers dedicated to improving road safety. The group is named after Alexa Middelaer — the little girl who was killed by a speeding drunk driver.

“It highlights that road safety is a huge issue in our province and it needs to be addressed,” said Laurel Middelaer, Alexa’s mother. “We are expecting our frontline defenders to be the protectors of road safety and that’s why this has drawn so much attention.”

Under B.C. law, the penalty for excessive speeding is a fine of $368 with immediate impoundment.

But because the incident happened back in February, it is unclear what consequences Arbulic could face now.

He is still on active duty and has since apologized for the incident.

He has also made a donation to a police charity in the amount of the fine.

The corporal will be appearing in court tomorrow.