The Toronto Sun is reporting that a Sarnia cop showed “utter stupidity” (apparently the judge’s words) by flirting with a woman he had charged with drunk driving ahead of her court date.  According to the Sun, Const. Robert Sparling texted the accused “If you buy me a beer, I’ll forget everything at trial” when they happened to be at the same bar a few weeks later.  Her response?  “I wished it worked that way.”

It seems the defence was looking to use the texts to “question the officer’s evidence about the breath tests,” though the judge reportedly shot down that argument.  As for Sparling, “He said his conduct at the bar had no impact on his involvement in the case.”

Had she bought him that beer, however, it might have been a different story…