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A SENIOR West Midlands Police union official has been charged with failing to give a breath sample to officers – while returning home from attending a misconduct hearing.

Police Constable Sarah Stevens-Burns, 48, allegedly told uniformed colleagues who stopped her in Balsall Heath that a breath sample would not be necessary, before driving away.

It is claimed that officers subsequently drove to her home and she was later reported for failing to comply with a request for a breath sample.

Mrs Stevens-Burns received a summons ordering her to appear before Birmingham magistrates court next month to face one charge of failing to provide a specimen of breath.

The officer is the current chairperson of West Midlands Police Federation’s Constable Branch, representing the force’s 4,000 police constables.

Her high-profile position saw her once lead an unsuccessful campaign to oust the chair of the national Police Federation.

Her emergency motion, put forward during the Constables Central Conference in 2013, was quashed after failing to attract sufficient votes.

Mrs Stevens-Burns is a former detective who joined the force in 1987 and is married to a police officer.

She has been a full-time discipline representative for the Police Federation since 2008. Her role includes representing officers who are being investigated by the force’s internal Professional Standards department.

It is understood that she was stopped by police after attending a colleague’s misconduct hearing in Birmingham in February.

No-one was available for comment at the West Midlands Police Federation.

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: “A serving West Midlands Police officer will appear at Birmingham Magistrates Court on June 16 charged with failing to supply a preliminary test for a breathalyser.

“Police Constable Sarah Stevens-Burns, aged 48, who is based in Sheldon, was summonsed to appear at court after she failed to provide a roadside test when requested by officers in Balsall Heath, Birmingham in February this year.”