Court date arrives for Sarnia cop accused of crossing Blue Water Bridge while over the limit

A Sarnia police officer accused of trying to cross the Blue Water Bridge while over the legal limit in an early-morning off-duty incident nearly six weeks ago finally had his first day in court.

Goal Const. Sean Van Vlymen was not in the Sarnia courtroom Thursday as his lawyer, Lucas O’Hara, represented him. The case was adjourned to early June for O’Hara, a London-based criminal defense lawyer, to get instructions from his client, a first-class constable with about a dozen years of experience, after a pre-trial with the Crown’s office.

O’Hara will be dealing with an out-of-town Crown attorney as there is a conflict of interest with Lambton’s office.

The alleged incident took place around 3:30 am March 31, when Lambton OPP said they were contacted by the Canada Border Services Agency about a driver who was taken into custody at the international crossing between Michigan and the Sarnia area. The driver was allegedly trying to re-enter Canada early that Friday morning in their personal vehicle when they were held after officers did a roadside screening test.

Van Vlymen, a 46-year-old Sarnia resident, was charged with a single count of having 80 or more milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood within two hours of driving.

Sarnia police were quick to announce one of their officers had been charged, issuing a statement about the incident later that day.

“It is deeply concerning when any police officers are involved in incidents that can negatively impact the public trust. This concern is shared by the many members of the Sarnia police, who continue to professionally serve the public every hour of every day, often in difficult and challenging circumstances,” Sarnia police Chief Derek Davis said in the March 31 statement.

Davis directed an internal investigation under the Police Services Act and added Van Vlymen has been assigned to non-operational duties. Police chiefs in Ontario can’t suspend officers without pay even after criminal charges surface.

Sarnia police added any questions had to be answered by Lambton OPP. They also issued a statement about the incident, but not until four days later and it didn’t include the fact the accused is a Sarnia police officer.

This isn’t the first time Van Vlymen has faced potential discipline. In August 2016, he was demoted from first- to second-class constable for six months after pleading guilty to three counts of misconduct in a hearing through the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD), a civilian oversight agency that investigates public complaints about police.

Through the guilty pleas, Van Vlymen admitted to checking on a civilian – a man whose identity was shielded in the report – in the police database because they had befriended his former girlfriend; stopping the same civilian and issuing three tickets; and detaining them for a roadside screening test despite lacking the grounds to make a demand.

The database check took place on Nov. 25, 2015, and the roadside stop – he followed the man for nearly five kilometers before pulling him over – was just 16 days later on Dec. 11, 2015.

“Const. Van Vlymen acted in a completely unprofessional manner on a number of different occasions over a period of two-and-a-half weeks. The protracted nature of the misconduct must be taken into consideration,” the OIPRD decision said.

But he was also given credit for showing remorse by pleading guilty to the charges as soon as possible and remained proactive and professional in his duties while the allegations were still outstanding, it added.

Van Vlymen is the fifth Sarnia police officer to face criminal charges since August 2020, but only one has been convicted. Christopher Noordam voluntarily resigned last fall after being convicted of breach of trust for inappropriately – and repeatedly – ​​touching a parolee he was supervising during meetings in a private room at Sarnia police headquarters.

Two of the charges are still outstanding – Van Vlymen’s and an assault charge laid three weeks later following an alleged off-duty incident against Const. Chris Beauchamp.

Another Sarnia police officer was previously charged with break and enter to commit mischief, but that charge was tossed out in June 2021, and a fellow officer was charged with forgery and attempted fraud, but it was cleared in October 2021.

In nearby London, a police officer in that city had his trial start this week on charges of sexual assault and sexual assault with choking.

[email protected]

@ObserverTerry