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On June 16, just before 7:30 p.m., Durham Regional Police received a call reporting a possibly impaired driver leaving Chuck’s Roadhouse in Whitby, east of Toronto. The 911 caller reported seeing the driver stumble to his Toyota Highlander alongside two children and gave police the license plate.

When a Durham police officer responded with lights and sirens, all cars on the road pulled over except for the Highlander. Another Durham police vehicle was almost hit by the Highlander before it sped across two lanes of traffic into a plaza on Taunton Road East.

Police stopped the vehicle and identified Cowley as the driver. When asked, he admitted he was an Ottawa police officer.

One of the officers on scene smelled the faint odour of alcohol on Cowley’s breath, saw his glassy eyes and constricted pupils and heard his slurred speech. When the officer asked if Cowley had been drinking, he lied and said he hadn’t.

But, indeed, he had. Cowley was in Durham for his son’s lacrosse tournament. He went to three games and had a “couple of beers” after each game, he would later tell internal investigators at Ottawa police. He thought he was fine to drive, he told them.

When he left the restaurant he admitted to Ottawa police investigators that he was driving aggressively because he was irritated by other drivers and agreed that he was likely speeding because he’s not a patient driver. The weekend was ending and the officer had to work on Monday and get his son and son’s friend home safely.