A B.C. police officer has been fired after a disciplinary hearing that found he lied to cover up the fact that he had crashed his cruiser -- allegedly while drinking and driving.

Const. Nathan Brown was driving home from work in an unmarked Abbotsford police vehicle on April 14, 2011, when he collided with a pole. An internal Police Act investigation was unable to determine whether he was impaired at the time, but a disciplinary hearing found that he misled police about when the damage to his car was done.

"Const. Brown was a good police officer who handled himself poorly after making a bad decision to drive a car after drinking", Abbotsford Chief Bob Rich said in a statement. "But police officers are held to a high standard and this investigation determined he did not meet that standard."

Brown had four-and-half years of experience with the Abbotsford Police Department at the time of the collision. He was suspended from duty while investigations were underway, and dismissed from his job on Friday.

An investigation into the crash resulted in a criminal charge of obstruction being laid against Brown. He is scheduled to make his next appearance in Abbotsford provincial court on April 12.